Sensor drone for aerial odor mapping for agriculture and security services
In this work, an electronics nose (E nose) based on six polymers and functionalized single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) nanocomposite gas sensors was developed and installed on a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) platform for detection of volatile compounds in the air. The efficiency of each gas sensor was tested in a static gas measurement chamber with presence of volatiles. The gas sensors were observed to increase response with increasing concentration of ammonia and toluene. Polyvinyl pyrolidon (PVP)/SWCNT COOH shows the highest sensor response to both ammonia and toluene. The E nose drone has then been demonstrated under two situations, i.e. in a closed clean room with presence of ammonia evaporation, and in open air with low wind environment. It was found that the pattern of sensor data obtained from flying the E nose drone under different situations can be clearly distinguished. It is hoped that the E nose drone can be a very useful technology for military usage; such as to detect explosives, as well as for farmers; such as to map the malodor emission from their cattle farms or to search for ethylene for fruit ripeness detection, etc.
2016 13th International Conference on Electrical Engineering/Electronics, Computer, Telecommunications and Information Technology (ECTI CON)