Artificial Perceptual Sensors - Artificial Human Sensors: Science and Applications - page 130

emergence of smaller and integrated devices in the late 20 th century, that exhibited
an extensive increase in performance, and used new production technologies, have
apparently resulted in new applications. To date, applications that involve, for
example, artificial olfaction and taste capabilities are frequently included in qual-
ity evaluation in the food industry. Also applications using vision and auditory
information are now frequently used in order to complement human capabilities.
Many of these applications use, what is called electronic; nose, tongue, hear-
ing, touch and vision sensors — that effectively work in conjunction with process
operators. That is to say, sensing devices of various degrees of selectivity, along
with advanced pattern recognition components trained to discriminate between
both simple and complex human-based sensing is an attractive solution in qualita-
tive measurement technology. The output pattern can be seen as an “environmen-
tal picture” describing the activity of interest. Also for individual use, there are
various needs to perceive information from the proximity area outside the body, to
directly transform occations by sensing many sets of complementary devices and
to merge it to meaningful information.
The information perceived from a perceptual-based sensor may vary in
operational principle due to the measurement ability in order to respond on certain
properties. For example, physical sensors differ in the conceptual principle from
chemical sensors by the ability to the range of measuring parameters. According
to Nanto (2003), approximately hundred physical parameters can be measured by
physical sensors compared with a range of several orders of magnitudes larger
for chemical sensors. The development of advanced chemical-based solutions will
most likely emerge in the near future, since there is an urgent need to also detect
and identify the huge number of existing chemicals, for example as in the trans-
portation sector illustrated in Fig. 6. 1.
Figure 6.1. Transportation of chemical compounds is frequently performed that exihibit
increased risk. This makes it more important to control each mode of transportation. Photo
courtesy and copyright Peter Wide c 2010.