The (Artificial) Nose Knows

A company has developed a small chip that essentially provides a sense of smell to computers.

November 11, 2015

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Detecting spoiled food might just have gotten a little easier, thanks to a new chip developed by C2Sense, Tech Times reports. The chip gives computers the ability to smell, which can be programmed to scents that indicate food spoilage.

For example, when fruit begins to rot, the gas ethylene is released. When other fruits come in contact with ethylene, they start to ripen quicker, letting off ethylene as well.

The human nose can’t detect trace amounts of the gas, but this computer chip could and send an alert that the fruit is ripe or about to spoil. C2Sense sees the application of the chip to be in supermarkets and other venues that sell fresh food to consumers. The potential value is for the retailer to know exactly which fruits and vegetables are at their peak and which might need to be sold quickly to avoid spoilage.

The technology is similar to the rudimentary sense of a carbon monoxide alarm. While sensors that detect ethylene have been around for a while, it hasn’t been refined enough to smell the gas outside of a laboratory until now.

C2Sense founder and CTO Jan Schnorr wants to manufacture the chips inexpensively enough to allow for broader usage, such as implementation into product packaging or grocery bags. The chips also could be housed in smart refrigerators or displays as well.

The only thing the chips can’t do is throw out the rotten produce. That’s still a job for us humans.

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