Gadget & Tech News

Mini-Nose scent detector sniffs out bombs, possibly liars

September 03rd, 2007 | Category: Gadget News

Ever dreamt of having a second, electronic, miniature nose that you could use to sniff out explosives, and maybe detect when your milk will go bad? We “sense” that you’re at home shaking your head “no.” Not a problem — because some scientists in Israel have had that dream for you. Enter the Mini-Nose (no, seriously), a new technology developed by Herzliya-based Scent Detection Technologies Ltd., which effectively emulates the mammalian olfactory sense for trace and particle detection. The analyzer will be put into use by security organizations in Israel and the US, including (but not limited to) the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon. Apparently, the Mini-Nose works by utilizing a technology called High-Frequency Quartz Crystal Microbalance (HF-QCM), which sniffs trace levels of explosives with a lower cost and greater accuracy than existing technologies. “Our technology is portable, reliable, cost-effective and can also detect improvised explosives without the need for upgrades,” says the company’s Vice President of Business Development Doron Shalom, who then went on to ominously add that the device can also “smell fear.”