Biologically-Inspired Search Strategy for Locating Odor Source

A mobile robot with gas sensors is able to detect and localize odor sources. Inspired from the animal predatory behavior, the paper presents a new search strategy for locating odor source by mobile robot. The behavior of the robot search odor source is divided into two main parts, namely, the global search and local search. The search strategy fuses with the information from gas sensors, wind direction sensor, ultrasound sensors, etc. Problems of obstacle avoidance and repetitive search of the mobile robot are considered when searching odor source, and the conditions for odor source declaration are presented. Experimental results on the search for a leaking bottle with alcohol in an indoor environment demonstrate the high efficiency and validity of the localization strategy.