Gas distribution mapping of multiple odour sources using a mobile robot

Mobile olfactory robots can be used in a number of relevant application areas where a better understanding of a gas distribution is needed, such as environmental monitoring and safety and security related fields. In this paper we present a method to integrate the classification of odours together with gas distribution mapping. The resulting odour map is then correlated with the spatial information collected from a laser range scanner to form a combined map. Experiments are performed using a mobile robot in large and unmodified indoor and outdoor environments. Multiple odour sources are used and are identified using only transient information from the gas sensor response. The resulting multi level map can be used as a representation of the collected odour data.