"The bio-hybrid system that is being developed by RFARP will be able to detect the tiniest doses of drugs in the air. We have completed trials of the hardware and software under conditions simulating real-world environment. It has shown that the sensitivity of the bio-hybrid system is comparable to detection dogs' olfactory systems," Fyodor Arseniyev said.
Arseniyev said that sample devices for the automatic discovery and identification of smells of the almost undetectable doses of certain substances have been made based on electrograms from an olfactory analyzer of small laboratory animals.
"We are also working on the hardware and software that would combine advantages of living organisms and technical systems," the project leader said.
According to the scientist, the new technology is compact, easy to use, and can detect and distinguish between all smells like living organisms can. The new system will therefore be effective in detecting dangerous substances in crowded public places.
"This will help to prevent potential illegal actions efficiently, including transporting of the drugs banned in Russia," Arseniyev said.