Plume-tracking robots: A new application of chemical sensors

Many animals have the ability to search for odor sources by tracking their plumes. Some of the key features of this search behavior have been successf ully transferred to robot platforms, although the capabilities of animals a re still beyond the current level of sensor technologies. The examples desc ribed in this paper are (1) incorporating into a wheeled robot the upwind s urges and casting used by moths in tracking pheromone plumes, (2) extractin g useful information from the response patterns of a chemical sensor array patterned after the spatially distributed chemoreceptors of some animals, a nd (3) mimicking the fanning behavior of silkworm moths to enhance the rece ption of chemical signals by drawing molecules from one direction. The achi evements so far and current efforts are reviewed to illustrate the steps to be taken toward future development of this technology.