大象传媒

Scientists in the US have created a chemical sniffer modelled on the nose of a sniffer dog, which has been shown to massively improve detection of chemical vapours. Conventional sniffer devices like the ones used to spot hidden explosives do not breathe in and out but suck in continuously. Using a 3-D printer the team replicated the external features of the nose of a female Labrador retriever, including the shape, direction and nostril spacing.

Matthew Staymates was part of the team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology which carried out the research.

(Photo: A sniffer dog patrolling a station. Credit: Justin Tallis/Getty Images)