Computers have gotten more and more sophisticated at reading visual and audio cues, but they’ve lagged behind in one major, albeit quirky, area: scent. As Reuters explained in a piece last year, smell sensors work must do fundamentally different work than cameras or microphones, and the challenge has defeated more than one company. One of the remaining contenders is a group called Aryballe Technologies, whose “optical nose” NeOse is on show at this year’s CES.
The device above is the second NeOse prototype, the NeOse Pro. When owners point a small tube on one end at an odor, it uses a combination of chemical sensors and an optical system to identify different scent molecules and test them against a database of known smells. In 15 to 30...
via The Verge
