Convergence Accelerator Workshop - Chemical sensing with an olfaction analogue: high-dimensional, bio-inspired sensing and computation

Biological olfactory systems are the most exquisite chemical detectors on the planet. Yet, unlike other sensory systems (e.g., vision, hearing), whose artificial analogues have revolutionized society (e.g., image and speech recognition), mimicking olfaction remains a grand challenge. This is in part due to the fact that, to recognize odors, biological noses use a large number of sensors –an estimated 400 sensors in humans, each sensor detecting different properties of odor molecules.

Building an odor-detection instrument with such high number and diversity of sensors has not been possible to date. But this is changing. New sensing technologies have emerged over the past decade that make it possible to develop large and diverse arrays of chemical sensors.

Promising technologies include those that use the same sensors as biological noses, miniaturization techniques such as nano-photonic and micro-electromechanical systems, and sensors that can detect multiple properties of an odor molecule. In parallel, there have been significant advances in algorithms to mimic odor processing in the biological olfactory system, and in neuro-morphic hardware to efficiently process large amounts of data.

In concert, these advances offer tremendous potential for new breakthroughs in artificial olfaction and chemical sensing that until recently were technically implausible. However, this requires bringing together a diverse group of experts who currently work largely independently across disciplines (e.g., biochemistry, perception, bioengineering, machine learning, healthcare, manufacturing).

To address this issue, a cross-disciplinary team of researchers will organize an interactive workshop to (1) discuss opportunities from emerging sensing and computing technologies that are ready to be turned into products and applications, and (2) identify application areas in which they can have the greatest societal impact, such as environmental monitoring, healthcare, quality control of food and beverages, precision agriculture, and homeland security.

The goal of this workshop is to create a comprehensive 3-year roadmap for translational research in artificial chemo-sensory systems that may lead to new products and applications. The research team will collaborate with a facilitator company to design a 4-day workshop with a variety of convergent and divergent activities, to be performed in small groups and individually.

Through these activities, participants will be prompted to define specifications for artificial chemosensory systems, identify the most promising sensing technologies that are ready for translation, and applications and end-user communities to engage. Throughout the workshop, participants will be divided into small breakouts for group exercises. These groups may be formed randomly or engineered based on some factor of importance (e.g., diversity of expertise, career stage, sector).

Depending on the activity, it may be beneficial to place participants in breakout based on commonality vs diversity. The research team and the facilitation team will work together to determine, for each activity, the best way of organizing participants. The workshop will be structured into a series of steps to “define” the need, “identify the solution” and then “target applications.” In Step 1, participants will develop key requirements and specifications for the chemical sensors and sensor systems of the future.

In Step 2, participants will identify potential approaches in five areas: sample delivery, biological sensors, micro-analytical instruments, multiparameter sensors, and computational analysis. Finally, in State 3, participants will identify application areas where this technology could have societal impact in 2-, 5- and 10-year timeframes, as well as identify those in the end-user communities who should be engaged in the short, medium and long term.

Participants will be recruited from four major stakeholders: industry, non-profit organizations, government organizations, and academia, to cover a broad range of disciplines, including basic science (materials science, biochemistry, sensory perception, neuroscience, analytical chemistry), engineering (bio- and neuromorphic engineering, instrumentation, machine learning), applications (healthcare, environment, quality control, agriculture, military, security), as well as product design and manufacturing.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.