The focus of the report was the project’s sensor-equipped vehicle, an ordinary car with a rooftop box containing a laser spectrometer that can identify chemical signatures created by the illicit production of explosives.
Coordinated by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), Localisation of Threat Substances in Urban Society (LOTUS) uses the artificial Olfaction group’s expertise in biologically inspired signal and data processing alongside that of other research and industry partners to develop its technologies. As well as developing a library of computational data analysis routines for a Differential Mobility Analyzer, the IBEC group has worked on improved algorithms for the localization of odor sources and developed a chemical plume simulator that allows the testing of navigation strategies for the project.
To watch the segment, visit http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/daily-planet/november-2011/daily-planet—november-28-2011/#clip576024 (starts at minute 8′).
For more information about the LOTUS project, visit http://www.lotusfp7.eu
