Not a Dollars, Just a Scents Proposition

Electronics giant Sony Corp. has developed a smelling machine far more effective than the human nose--but admits that it has not yet scented a business opportunity.

“The equipment we have made is about 100 times more sensitive than a human’s sense of smell, and we think it is possible to make it as sensitive as a dog’s eventually,” a spokeswoman said.

The sensor can be used to detect the scent of perfumes, toiletries and food flavorings. It scored 10 out of 10 in tests to identify perfumes, she said.

The equipment uses six sensors wrapped in a thin film of fatty acids and connected to a personal computer.

When the source of a smell is uncovered, molecules of the scent stick to the film on the sensors. The pattern in which the molecules adhere to the film is transmitted to the computer, which compares it to pre-programmed patterns to determine the type of smell.