Until recently, industry made use of specialists whose performance, at whatever level, was hardly geared to the requirements of industrial mass production. O n the one hand there is human sensitivity. They are the ones who create new scents. They assess the quality of meats or the olfactory properties of different types of coffee and spices. On the other hand there is technology.
Sensors developed by industry can detect gas leaks or smoke.
Of great value in the fields of safety and the environment, such systems, based on metal oxides, respond to contact with specific odorant molecules. The solution worked out by a French company, Alpha MOS, combines a network of multitechnology sensors with an artificial intelligence system. The basic technology used in Alpha MOS instruments consists of metal oxide sensors whose conductivity changes in the presence of volatile organic compounds. With this technology it is possible to undertake a sophisticated analysis and more systematic checking of raw materials and finished products, eventually leading to a general improvement in product quality. Through this approach FOX 2000 has been developed, an analytical instrument combining a network, consisting of these three types of sensors, with artificial intelligence.