Odor source searching in mechanical turbulent airflow using a mobile robot

Localization of gas leak sources is needed especially in industrial areas and the environments. Because some gases are dangerous to humans, the use of robots equipped with gas sensors is often employed to find the odor or gas sources. Rapid finding of the target is the main key to minimize the potential danger caused by several toxic, flammable and explosive gas compounds. This paper discusses the searching for odor source in an obstacle environment using a mobile robot, in which the presence of the obstacle can produce mechanical turbulent airflow. The turbulent airflow causes odor plume to change the direction of its spread, making it difficult for the mobile robot to find the location of the odor source. The mobile robot used in this study is equipped with a new method of combining gas sensors and wind sensors to find the odor source. The experimental results show that the combination of the two types of sensors can increase the success rate of 90% and 70% in laminar, and mechanical turbulent airflow, respectively, compared to the use of gas sensors only. In addition, this combination of sensors can improve the performance of the mobile robot including shorter travel distance and travel time by 2.4% and 45.9%, respectively.