The Background - Artificial Human Sensors: Science and Applications - page 11

Figure 1.2. The pathways from Sir John Lubbock's scented experiment of ants finding their
ways. Image first appeared in Animal Intelligence by George John Romanes (1881).
Smell is also considered to be of primary basic function for dangerous
responses. A fundamental threat is alerting the basic olfaction functions. The result
presented in Blanchard (2008) is considered to be clearly expected, and verifies as
assumed the situational assessment when an individual is considered to be in a
dangerous situation. The perception is then set to alert mode and the capabilities
are focused to detect unforeseen activities in our close environment and to identify
possible threats to us. There is also indication that we may learn to smell fear and
danger by experience of earlier impressions with related olfaction experience.
Nowadays, smell is still used as a strategy of danger detection in emergency
situations, where a suddenly arising gaseous compound is not expected to be
present. For example, detection of smoke in the air or in a building will almost
certainly put the brain into an alert mode. In the same way, we are also able to
be alert when in the absence of certain flavours in the surrounding, for example,
when having a dinner without recognition of the expected spices surrounding the
specific food. The list of specific activities that with advantages can be identified
by smell can be long. We indeed use the olfactory system in daily matters and as a
direct primary attention, when we smell gas in or outside our car, when the cook-
ing is going to be burned and when it is time to take out the garbage. Parents use
with advantage this sensing ability to detect whether it is time to change diapers of
the baby, as well as to make smell or taste checks when preparing food for young
children.
The food industry incorporates frequently the use of sensory analysis, that
has the final aim to develop products of the expected quality. Further, the effect
is to understand the human food choice behaviour, where the human sensory