The experimental setup. The sensor sits atop the small glass box (left). A small amount of liquid containing VOCs (right) is added to the box, where it is drawn into the sensor via sniffing. Credit: Aizenberg Lab/Harvard SEAS
Consider this—there is no cheap, at-home device that can tell you milk has gone bad faster than your nose. One whiff and you know that the milk has gone rancid. Humans have created technologies that allow us to see distant stars and single atoms but when it comes to smell, the nose still tends to know best.
Portable sensors that mimic