An electronic nose is an intelligent sensing device that uses a gas sensor array of partial and overlapping selectivity along with a pattern-recognition component to distinguish between simple and complex odors. To date, researchers have used e-noses in many applications and domains, from the food industry to medical diagnosis. A next stage in e-nose development is to introduce artificial olfaction into integrated systems, so e-noses can work with other sensors on more complex platforms, such as on mobile robots or in intelligent environments. Here, the authors offer an overview of the more critical challenges in integrating this important sense into intelligent systems. They also discuss Pippi, a mobile robot that uses different sensing modalities (visual, sonar, tactile, and e-nose sensors) along with high-level processes (planners and symbolic reasoning) to accomplish several olfactory-related tasks.
