Smelling Nano Aerial Vehicle for Gas Source Localization and Mapping

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Sensor Technology
• Environmental Monitoring

Background:

• Traditional aerial platforms for gas sensing are often too large or pose a hazard in confined spaces.
• There is a need for compact, safe, and autonomous aerial vehicles capable of operating indoors for gas detection and localization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Smelling Nano Aerial Vehicle (SNAV), the smallest aerial platform with olfaction capabilities.
• To assess the SNAV's performance in gas source localization (GSL) and mapping within a large indoor environment.
• To compare different GSL strategies for the SNAV.

Main Methods:

• Development of a lightweight nano-quadcopter (27 g) equipped with a custom gas sensing board hosting up to two metal oxide semiconductor (MOX) gas sensors.
• Assessment of nano-propeller impact on MOX sensor signals and adaptation of a 'bout' detection algorithm for real-time operation.
• Experimental validation of the SNAV for GSL and 3D gas mapping in a 160 m² indoor environment with challenging gas source placements.

Main Results:

• The SNAV successfully performed autonomous gas sensing missions, creating a 3D gas distribution map in under 3 minutes.
• Gas source localization using the 'bout' frequency algorithm achieved higher accuracy (1.38 m error) compared to the instantaneous sensor response (2.05 m error).
• The nano-drone demonstrated potential for gas sensing in complex, inaccessible environments.

Conclusions:

• The developed Smelling Nano Aerial Vehicle (SNAV) is a viable and safe platform for autonomous gas sensing in challenging indoor environments.
• The SNAV's small form-factor enables operation in public areas and hazardous locations, such as collapsed buildings.
• Further research may involve optimizing the 'bout' frequency algorithm for enhanced localization accuracy.