Governments of nations from all around the world are currently establishing a host of security programs to ensure the protection of their national treasures, infrastructure, citizenry, and to establish social order. One example of such programs is in the detection of illicit and hazardous materials such as drugs, explosives, chemical and biological contaminants.
For the detection of these abovementioned materials, two approaches are normally used. The first approach involves the use of electronics-based detection machines and instruments. These machines and instruments typically operate using methods based on a wide array of spectroscopic, electrical or magnetic principles. From these principles have emerged traditional detection machines based on technologies such as the x-ray, gas chromatographic and nuclear quadruple resonance machines, to emergent detection machines based on chemical and electronic nose nanotechnology based sensors, and non-ionizing terahertz, infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy, interferometry and imaging techniques.
The major advantages of detection machines and instruments include their parts-per-billion sensitivity to vapor detection and the fact that different technologies and principles of operation can be used simultaneously within a singular detection configuration.
However, a disadvantages imposed by the use of machines or instrument detection is that the machine itself is not capable of an autonomous search-and-detect process of detection within a defined space or area. It cannot “see.”
The second approach to detection is of a biological nature and takes advantage of the olfactory capacity of creatures such as canines, bees, rats and fishes such as sharks and the catfish to detect illicit and hazardous materials, specifically employing their capacity to detect sub-parts-per-million amounts of a scent or odor exuded by a material and then trace the odor back to its source, and the fact that they are easy to train by humans in search-and-detect operations.
However, a major limitation of detector creatures is the fact that they cannot communicate to humans the exact nature of the illicit or hazardous material what they are positively alerting to nor can they confirm the nature of the scent trail they are following. Also, their senses of detection are wholly based on principles pertaining to olfaction.
It would be beneficial to have a bio-machine hybrid detector that combines the autonomous search-and-detect capability of a detector creature that is trained in the art of detection of illicit and hazardous materials with the multi-perspective material identification and characterization capability of electronics-based detector machines and instruments, as such a detector will have superb advantages over currently available biological or electronic detection systems in the detection of materials such as explosives, narcotics, laundered currency, fugitives and agricultural produce.