Electronic nose for pesticides: the first study towards a smart analysis

Abstract

Within a project co-funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the final aim of which is to develop a WSN for smart monitoring of pesticides on agricultural land, the Italian and Serbian researchers have developed a hardware section of an electronic nose for pesticides. Since there are no specialized sensors which can smell the presence or absence of pesticides in the air, the electronic nose has been designed starting from an array of commercial gas sensors developed for other environmental applications. These sensors have a great advantage as they are COTS components. A measurement bench for testing the performance of the system has also been developed. Experimental tests have been conducted and the results have demonstrated the appropriateness of the idea. A test for calibration has been designed, as well, and it will be performed in the near future.