DARPA Has $3.2M to Sniff You Out

quackking writes "The Army wants to sniff you out. This fedbizopps.gov link to a DARPA pre-RFRQ tells more. 'The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Advanced Technology Office (ATO), as part of the Odortype Detection Program, invites proposals to (1) determine whether genetically-determined odortypes can be used to identify specific individuals, and if so (2) to develop the science and enabling technology for detecting and identifying specific individuals by such odortypes. Total program funding for this effort will not exceed $3.2 million in FY 2003. Multiple awards are anticipated. Proposals are due by January 29, 2003.'"

Comments

Aromatic Compounds

[VoidEngineer]

So, odors are generally caused by 'aromatic molecules'. The nose, actually, is a molecular shape sensing device. Knowing what a terrorist smells like is central to knowing what kind of compounds and chemicals they've been working with. Somebody who smells acidic, dusty, and metallic is doing very different kind of work than somebody who smells of of wood/bark, musty, or moldy. The first person may be working with metals and acid etching things, whereas the second person may be a mycologist, and growing fungus. Between the two, the former is more likely to be making a bomb; the later bioweapons.

Re:Intresting stuff

[Seehund]

(For those who don't RTFA, it is theorised that the genes coding for our MHCs also determine what detectable scent molecules we spread around us.)

Re:Why

[Reziac]

Actually, what you eat/drink/smoke alters your body chemistry, thus the waste products exuded by your skin. Which in turn alters your scent. Hell, even my human nose can pick up that much. And dogs can readily pick out people who eat certain foods (such as Mexican food).

Tho if this becomes practical, I foresee a thriving market in whole-body deodorant washes. It won't fool a really good dog (probably because they're sensitive to a whole spectrum of scents) but I'd bet it would fool a sensor-and-database arrangement, which perforce would be more limited in its sensory range.

BTW, German Shepherd Dogs have poor noses compared to Labrador Retrievers, and Labs train up easier for this sort of work.