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犬は嗅覚にすぐれていますので、救助目的あるいや麻薬や爆発物の捜査に使われています。人の癌を見つけるために訓練される犬さえもいます。
現代科学では犬の嗅覚を再現する研究が進められてきました。そしてグラスゴー空港では「電子的な探査犬」と呼ばれる装置が実験されています。
この装置はレーザーによって空気中にある爆発物の成分を感知します。人の身体に隠された爆発物を探知することが目的です。
これにより安全検査のために上着やベルトや靴を脱ぐ必要がなくなります。また感知には１人につき１秒しかかからず、すぐに結果が出るということです。
実際の犬と異なり、装置は疲れたり、散歩や食事を必要としません。また犬の訓練には膨大な時間が必要であり、それには大きな費用がかかります。
しかし現代科学が生きた犬に勝てない分野もあります。それは繊細さと選択性にあります。犬は本当に微細なわずかな爆発物を嗅ぎ分けることもできるのです。
嗅覚についての研究は急速に進んでいるため、この「電子的な探査犬」のような装置が大いに役立つ日も遠くないかもしれません。
Dogs are known for a strong sense of smell. Their noses can be trained to identify different odors. Dogs are often used in search and rescue operations and to sniff for things like drugs and explosives. Some dogs have even been trained to sniff for cancer in people.
Researchers have been trying to reproduce the extraordinary sense of smell that real dogs are born with. Now, officials at the Glasgow airport in Scotland are testing a new security device called an “electronic sniffer dog.” The electronic sniffer dog represents one of the latest developments in the area of smell technology.
A Scottish company, Cascade Technologies, joined with the French security company Morpho to develop it. The device uses lasers to identify explosive material in gases in the air. The purpose is to identify explosives that may be hidden on a person’s body.
The machine looks similar to the metal detectors now used at airports. Passengers walk through the machine as the lasers test the surrounding air.
People are not required to take off their coats, belts or shoes as part of the security process. And, unlike full-body scanners, the new device does not show images of the passenger.
Officials at Cascade Technologies say the machine can process one person per second and produce almost immediate results. They say future developments could cut security processing times at airports by screening all passengers at walking speed.
Professor Yushan Yan is the head of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. His research team has been working on a similar sniffer device since two thousand eight.
He points out that unlike real dogs, electronic devices do not get tired or need to be walked or require food and water. Professor Yan says real sniffer dogs also have other needs.
YUSHAN YAN: “They also need very extensive training that could be expensive. And when they work they have to have a very skilled handler around them.”
But Professor Yan says in his experience, there is an important area where man’s best friend still wins compared to technology.
YUSHAN YAN: “In terms of sensitivity and selectivity, the current technology out there is still inferior. The dog has amazing capability identifying some really really minor amount of explosives.”
But Professor Yan says electronic sniffer technology is developing quickly and could have a lot of uses in the future.
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