The Background - Artificial Human Sensors: Science and Applications - page 10

In some situations, the human senses of smell and taste in conjunction with
other perceptual senses, e.g., touch, sight, and hearing are together a useful tool for
measuring and experiencing the total concept of flavour. The capacity of the hu-
man sensory analysis is a complex process not completely known in detail. How-
ever, the human senses provide us with a possibility to describe the appearance,
flavour and texture, as well as to experience the complex hedonic responses of
impressions, e.g., in food products. Sensory analysis in its human based and in-
strumentation form has a long tradition in the food industry and is becoming an
essential and valuable tool in product development, quality control and marketing
aiming to increase the total flavour for specific target groups. For example, preg-
nancy affects the sensitivity for taste and smell and the women may experience
different changes in sensitivity of related products due to a strong influence from
smell and taste.
The extra sensitivity in perceptual sensing makes certain groups in our society
extremely sensitive for sensing impressions, and where a majority of the popu-
lation considers it normal, for example, the group of elderly people, Schiffman
(1993). This may for the individual result in an unpleasant experience as well as
create annoying situations. On the other hand, if a person is talented with an extra
sensitive olfaction and gustatory sensing system (supertaste/smell) there is always
a need for these specific perceptual performances in the fragrance related industry,
e.g., testing whiskey, perfume or being part of a panel testing food products.
The perfume and fragrance industry has an important task in preventing us
from smelling bad, as well as putting a specific odour to our personality. These
arguments only testify the aesthetic importance that we consider odour to be in
the social society of today. The odour seems to reveal an ancient need, as the
odour extends the individual and subjective flagrancy of perceptual sensing with
the obvious goal to add a specific personal smell to the body and to be identified
with a flavour.
The economic value of the perfume and flagrancy industry is of huge impor-
tance. Only in Europe the sales of fragrances during the year 2005 have been
estimated at 6.9 billion Euro, Loutfi (2006). The significance of human olfaction
seems to be influenced by artificial fragrances and no longer exhibits the survival
relation, where species would be non-existing in a world of danger, without the
specific ability, and in every moment, to detect and recognise odours.
Despite the importance of the gustatory and olfaction system, humans still lack
the proper vocabulary to describe the experienced odour or in general a sensation.
Due to the present individual sensing mode or other psychological effects, odours
are often described in vague terms, often varying in time with no or little relation to
the individual's earlier experience and possible similar references to other odours,
Dubois (2000). The olfaction system seems also to be involved in our interaction
with other humans and is considered to be involved in the selection of a partner,
Bear (1996). In the literature, animals use to relate smell in path finding, e.g., ants,
Romanes (2008); sexual activities, Edwards (1990); and how insects are organised
in a society, Gordon (1999).