Classification of odours with mobile robots based on transient response

Classification of odours with an array of gas sensors mounted on a mobile robot is a challenging and still relatively unexplored topic. Mobile robots able to classify an odour could navigate to a specific source or isolate high concentration areas in applications such as environmental monitoring. A key aspect to classification is to be able to process the data collected while moving the robot and using a simple and compact sensor system. In order to achieve this, we present a classification algorithm that is based on the transient response from the sensors. An analysis of how classification results vary with regards to the movement of the robot is provided and subsequently the experimental validations show that the classification performance depends more on how the robot traverses the odour plume and the quality of the transient than on the distance from the source location. The experimental validation has been done in a large unmodified indoor environment.