Artificial olfaction

Research Topics

Biologically inspired signal and data processing / Development of smart chemical instruments / Statistical signal processing and chemometrics / Image processing / Chemical sensor arrays / Miniaturised infrared spectrometers / Ion mobility spectrometry / Odour perception

Artificial olfaction (AO) systems are intelligent chemical instruments for the detection of volatile compounds and smells. These systems usually combine an array of nonspecific chemical sensors with a pattern recognition system. The emphasis is not on the identification and quantification of the individual components—as is the case with analytical instruments—but rather on the overall evaluation of the odour. Moreover, AO systems tend to favour miniaturised devices capable of analyzing an odour in seconds. The focus of our research in this field is the development of signal and data processing systems inspired by the neuronal processing of the biological olfactory pathway.

96 temperature modulated chemical sensor array to test redundancy and diversity coding in the olfactory system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our research in 2010 included the following:

• Within the framework of the European NEUROCHEM project for the development of biologically-inspired computational solutions, we have developed detailed neuronal models of insect mushroom bodies and integrated more abstract complete models inspired by the olfactory system of vertebrates in a neural simulator. A biomimmetic olfactory epithelium has been built and tested in a variety of biologically motivated scenarios. We are currently testing how models process information.

• In the context of the LOTUS project, we have developed a library of computational data analysis routines for a Differential Mobility Analyzer.  Additionally, we have developed improved algorithms based on Bayesian sequential inference for the localization of odor sources. Additionally we have developed a chemical plume simulator that allows to test navigation strategies.

• In cooperation with the University of Córdoba, we have developed a smart system to detect fraud in white wine samples from Ion Mobility Spectrometer signatures.

• Clustering is a major data analysis method in bioinformatics and -omics data analysis. In cooperation with MPI for Molecular Genetics and the University of Brescia, we have developed a cluster validity algorithm specially suited for fuzzy clustering algorithms based on bootstrap stability.

 

Lung cancer diagnostics by breath sampling.

 

• Dr. Santiago Marco | Group Leader
• Dr. Agustín Gutiérrez | Senior Researcher
• Milad Avazbeigi | PhD Student
• Ariadna Bartra | PhD Student
• Lluís Fernández | PhD Student
• Ana Verónica Guamán | PhD Student
• Sergio Oller | PhD Student
• Erola Pairó Castiñeira | PhD Student
• Víctor Pomareda | PhD Student
• Pablo Meca | Research Technician
• Bernd Friedl | Visiting Student

• Garrido-Delgdo, R., Arce, L., Guamán, A. V., Pardo, A., Marco, S. & Valcárcel, M. (2011). Direct coupling of a gas-liquid separator to an Ion Mobility Spectrometer for the classification of different white wines using quemometrics tools. Talanta, 84(2), 471-479.
• Calvo, D., Tort, N., Salvador, J., Marco, M.-P., Centi, F. & Marco, S. (2011). Preliminary study for simultaneous detection and quantification of androgenic anabolic steroids using ELISA and pattern recognition techniques. Analyst, 136(19), 4045-4052.
• Guamán, A. V., Carreras, A., Calvo, D., Agudo, I., Navajas, D., Pardo, A., Marco, S. & Farré, R. (2011). Rapid Detection of Sepsis in Rats through Volatile Organic Compounds in Breath. Journal of Chromatography B, in press.
• Fonollosa, J., Gutiérrez, A., Lanser, A., Martinez, D., Rospars, J., Beccherelli, R., Perera, A., Pearce, T., Vershure, P., Persaud, K. & Marco, S (2011). Biologically Inspired Computation for Chemical Sensing. In Procedia Computer Science 7, pages 226–227.
• Fernández, L., Gutiérrez, A., Fonollosa, J. & Marco, S (2011). A biomimetic gas sensor array system designed to test computational olfaction models. In 20th Congress of European Chemoreception Research Organization (ECRO-2010). Avignon, France (2010). Published by Oxford Univ. Press (2011/01/01).
• Auffarth, B., Gutiérrez, A. & Marco, S. (2011). Statistical analysis of coding for molecular properties in the olfactory bulb. Front Syst Neurosci., 5(62).
• Auffarth, B., Gutiérrez, A. & Marco, S. (2011). Continuous spatial representations in the olfactory bulb may reflect perceptual categories. Front Syst Neurosci., 5(82).
• Montoliu, I., Tauler, R., Padilla, M., Pardo, A. & Marco, S. (2010). Multivariate curve resolution applied to temperature modulated metal oxide gas sensors. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 146(2), 464-473.
• Perera, A., Pardo, A., Barrettino, D., Hierlermann, A. & Marco, S. (2010). Evaluation of fish spoilage by means of a single metal oxide sensor under temperature modulation. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 146(2), 477-482.
• Ziyatdinov, A., Marco, S., Chaudry, A., Persaud, K., Caminal, P. & Perera, A. (2010). Drift compensation of gas sensor array data by common principal component analysis. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 146(2), 460 - 465.
• Falasconi, M., Gutiérrez, A., Pardo, M., Sberveglieri, G. & Marco, S. (2010). A stability based validity method for fuzzy&clustering. Pattern Recognition, 43(4), 1292-1305.
• Padilla, A., Perera, A., Montoliu, I., Chaudry, A., Persaud, K. & Marco, S. (2010). Drift compensation of gas sensor array data by Orthogonal Signal Correction. CHEMOMETRICS AND INTELLIGENT LABORATORY SYSTEMS, 100(1), 28-35.
• Pomareda, V., Calvo, D., Pardo, A. & Marco, S. (2010). Hard modeling Multivariate Curve Resolution using LASSO: Application to Ion Mobility Spectra. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 104(2), 318 - 332.
• Salleras, M., Carmona, M. & Marco, S. (2010). Issues in the Use of Thermal Transients to Achieve Accurate Time-Constant Spectrums and Differential Structure Functions. IEEE Transactions on Advanced Packaging, 33(4), 918-923.
• Fonollosa, J., Halford, B., Fonseca, L., Santander, J., Udina, S., Moreno, M., Hildenbrand, J., Wöllenstein, J. & Marco, S. (2009). Ethylene optical spectrometer for apple ripening monitoring in controlled atmosphere store-houses. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 136(2), 546 - 554.
• Fonollosa, J., Carmona, M., Santander, J., Fonseca, L., Moreno, M. & Marco, S. (2009). Limits to the integration of filters and lenses on thermoelectric IR detectors by flip-chip techniques. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 149(1), 65 - 73.
• Abad, E., Palacio, F., Nuin, M., Zárate, Juarros, A., Gómez, J. M. & Marco, S. (2009). RFID smart tag for traceability and cold chain monitoring of foods: Demonstration in an intercontinental fresh fish logistic chain. Journal of Food Engineering, 93(4), 394-399.
• Palacio, F., Cano, X., Gómez, J., Vilar, C., Scorzoni, A., Cicioni, M., Abad, E., Juarros, A., Gómez, D., Nuin, M., González, A., Becker, T. & Marco, S. (2009). Radio Frequency Identification Semi-Active Tag with Sensing Capabilities for the Food Logistic Chain. Sensor Letters, 7, 942-951(10).
• Fonseca, L., Rubio, R., Santander, J., Calaza, C., Sabaté, N., Ivanov, P., Figueras, E., Cia, I. G., Cané, C., Udina, S., Moreno, M. & Marco, S. (2009). Qualitative and quantitative substance discrimination using a CMOS compatible non-specific NDIR microarray. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 141(2), 396 - 403.
• Udina, S., Carmona, M., Carles, G., Santander, J., Fonseca, L. & Marco, S. (2008). A micromachined thermoelectric sensor for natural gas analysis: Thermal model and experimental results. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 134(2), 551 - 558.
• Zampolli, S., Elmi, I., Cozzani, E., Cardinali, G., Scorzoni, A., Cicioni, M., Marco, S., Palacio, F., Gómez-Cama, J., Sayhan, I. & Becker, T. (2008). Ultra-low-power components for an RFID Tag with physical and chemical sensors. Microsystem Technologies, 14, 581-588.
• Fonollosa, J., Rubio, R., Hartwig, S., Marco, S., Santander, J., Fonseca, L., Wöllenstein, J. & Moreno, M. (2008). Design and fabrication of silicon-based mid infrared multi-lenses for gas sensing applications. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 132(2), 498 - 507.
• Sayhan, I., Helwig, A., Becker, T., Mueller, G., Elmi, I., Zampolli, S., Padilla, M. & Marco, S. (2008). Discontinously operated metal oxide gas sensors for flexible tag microlab applications. IEEE Sensor Journal, 8, 176-181.
• Kuske, M., Padilla, M., Romain, A. C., Nicolas, J., Rubio, R. & Marco, S. (2006). Detection of diverse mould species growing on building materials by gas sensor arrays and pattern recognition. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 119(1), 33 - 40.
• Gutiérrez, A., Pardo, A. & Marco, S. (2006). Information-theoretic analysis of odor intensity at the olfactory epithelium. Chemical Senses, 31(8), E3-E4.
• Montoliu, I., Pardo, A., Persaud, K. C. & Marco, S. (2006). Study of Olfactory Bulb time response by using multivariate image analysis tools. Chemical Senses, 31(8), E33-E34.
• Padilla, M., Montoliu, I., Pardo, A., Perera, A. & Marco, S. (2006). Feature extraction on three way enose signals. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 116(1-2), 145 - 150.
• Perera, A., Papamichail, N., Barsan, N., Weimar, U. & Marco, S. (2006). On-line novelty detection by recursive dynamic principal component analysis and gas sensor arrays under drift conditions. IEEE Sensors Journal, 6(3), 770-783.
• Marco, S. & Lansner, A. (2006). Exploratory analysis of the rat olfactory bulb activity. Chemical Senses, 31(8), E73-E73.
• Rubio, R., Santander, J., Fonollosa, J., Fonseca, L., Cia, I. G., Cané, C., Moreno, M. & Marco, S. (2006). Exploration of the metrological performance of a gas detector based on an array of unspecific infrared filters. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 116(1-2), 183 - 191.
• Pardo, A., Cámara, L., Cabré, J., Perera, A., Cano, X., Marco, S. & Bosch, J. (2006). Gas measurement systems based on IEEE1451.2 standard. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 116(1-2), 11 - 16.

Projects

• Intelligent signal processing for sensor systems in bioengineering (2009-SGR-753) Santiago Marco
• BREATH Exhaled breath inflammatory, oxidative stress and metabonomic biomarkers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer (2009-2011) Santiago Marco
• SEDUCE: Systems for the detection of explosives in public facilities and infrastructures (2009-CENIT-SEDUCE) (with the University of Barcelona) Santiago Marco
• LOTUS: Localisation of threat substances in urban society (FP7-SEC-217925) (with the University of Barcelona) Santiago Marco [+ info]
• NEUROCHEM: Biologically inspired computation for chemical sensing (FP7-ICT-FET-216916) (with the University of Barcelona) Santiago Marco [+ info]
• Drowsiness detection (SOMNO-ALERT® P-10) Santiago Marco
• Signal processing optimized for the detection of explosive and toxic substances (2009-FI-VP051626) Santiago Marco
• Research project in advanced systems for a more eco-efficient airplane (2010-CENIT-PROSAVE2) Santiago Marco
• Prototype instrument for measuring energy consumption – Natural Gas (VALTEC 08-02-0043) Santiago Marco
• Olfactory bulb image analysis and its implications in odour coding (FPSC-IBEC) Santiago Marco
• Systems for the Detection of Explosives in Centers and Public Infrastructures (2008-2011) Santiago Marco

Collaborations

• Prof. María Pilar Marco Applied Molecular Receptor group (AMRg), Insitute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia, Spanish Council for Scientific Research (IQAC-CSIC), Barcelona (Spain).


• Prof. Enrique Ruspini European Center for Softcomputing, Mieres, Asturias (Spain).


• Dr. Lourdes Arce Dept. Química Analítica, Universidad de Córdoba (Spain).


• Dr. Tim Pearce Neurolab, Dept. Engineering, University of Leicester (UK).


• Prof. J.P. Rospars Insect Physiology Unit, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Versailles (France).


• Dr. D. Martínez Cortex Group, LORIA, Nancy, France


• Prof. Pere Caminal CREB, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain


• Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica, Barcelona, Spain


• Dr. Gerhard Müller EADS Innovation Works, Munich, Germany


• Prof. Krishna Persaud Chemoreception Group, University of Manchester, Great Britain


• Prof. Anders Lansner The Brain Institute, Stockholm, Sweden


• Prof. Paul Vershure Cognitive, Perceptive and Emotive Systems, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain


• Dr. Jürgen Wöllenstein IPM, Fraunhofer Institute, Freiburg, Germany


• Prof. Dr. Jacques Nicolas Environmental Surveillance Group, University of Liege, Belgium


• Dr. F. P. Gómez Hospital Clinico de Barcelona, Spain


• Leon and Johnson Group Dept. of Neuroscience, UC Irvine, United States

• Owlstone vapor generator
• UV-IMS (ultraviolet-ion mobility spectrometry)
• Dycometal Climate-controlled Chamber adapted for atmosphere modification
• Olfactive Port for Gas Chromatography
• Double-column gas chromatography system with flame ionization detector (HP)
• Photolonization Detector ppbRAE 3000(RAE Systems)
• Temperature and Humidity Gas Conditioner(Assay Technology)
• Thermoscientific
• Automated HeadSpace Sampler
• Computing cluster with 32 processors
• Ion Mobility Spectrometer(Airsense Analytics, GmbH)
• Gas sensor test station, with associated equipment for excitation, data logging and mixture generation
• Climatic Chamberadapted for atmosthere modification
• Computing and General Purpose Electronic Instrumentation
• Infrared Camera
• NST 3320 Electronic Nose
• VocMeter Electronic Nose
• High performance computing server

16/05/2011

Santiago Marco elected president of ISOCS

At the General Assembly of the International Society of Olfaction and Chemical Sensing at Rockefeller University, New York, Artificial Olfaction group leader Santiago Marco was elected President of the society for a period of two years.

17/03/2011

Neurochem's Workshop on Bioinspired Computation for Chemical Sensing

Last week the University of Barcelona, as a coordinator of the  EU-FP7 Neurochem Project, joined with IBEC to organize the Workshop on Bioinspired Computation for Chemical Sensing, which was held on 9-11 March at the Hotel Senator in Barcelona. The focus of the workshop was on signal processing techniques inspired by the olfactory system and computational models of the biological olfactory pathway.

17/03/2011

Smelling by minispectrometer provides fast determination of wine origin

Wine fraud is a growing problem, with experts estimating that up to 10% of the wines offered to consumers in some European countries are of a lesser quality than the label claims. It’s an issue that affects everyone from expert collectors to average consumers, and is such a concern in some countries that drastic measures have been taken: the Italian Carabinieri Corps, for instance, has educated 25 of their officers as sommeliers.

05/10/2009

IBEC hosts Summer School 2009 of International Society for Olfaction and Chemical Sensing

The research team of Artificial Olfaction at IBEC, led by Santiago Marco, organized the Summer School of the International Society for Olfaction and Chemical Sensing (ISOCS). It was held from September 28th, to October 2nd of 2009, at Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, Barcelona, Spain. This Summer School was supported by the FP7 Neurochem European project, coordinated by the IBEC’s research team.