e-Dog to sniff out explosives

"A prototype of the e-device is under development to smell explosives from a distance by a sensor coated with nano materials," Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Mumbai) professor V. Ramgopal Rao told IANS on the sidelines of the Indian Science Congress. The government has entrusted the electrical engineering department of the IIT to develop the high-tech device in collaboration with the High Energy Materials Research Lab of the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Chandigarh and the Madras Atomic Power Station at Kalpakkam near Chennai.

To enhance security and check use of improvised explosive devices (IED) by terrorists and other criminal elements, Rao said the device with nano sensors could be installed at airports, railway stations, bus stands and other vital installations to detect them in solid, liquid or vapour form and seize before they are timed to explode.

"The device with an electronic nose will be able to sniff presence of IED or RDX in any of the three forms in the way trained canines can do. As training dogs in multitudes and deploying them at many places is a daunting task, an 'electronic dog' is a good alternative," Rao said.

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