Potentials and Requirements of an Electronic Nose for Use as a Vapor-Based Detector of Explosive Packages

Even if bombs are hidden in unsuspicious objects, explosives packages release a characteristic gas ensemble which can be detected by sniffer dogs. In view of several draw-backs of sniffer dogs (such as limited working time per day, constrained age span they can be employed, high costs involved when employing a group of dogs) artificial olfaction with an Electronic Nose (EN) may present an interesting alternative. An EN can be applied 24h per day, has lower investment and operational costs and the spectrum of detectable gases is broader. However, the dog’s nose is known to show an extreme sensitivity and gas discrimination power.