Bomb Detecting Honey Bees
Bomb Detecting Honey-Bees
Abstract
Police and military personnel have been using dogs to sniff out explosives for decades. According to scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mexico who have been working with honeybees since 1999, believe that bees can actually challenge dogs when it comes to sense of smell. The buzzing insects that seek out molecular hints of the pollen to make honey can easily detect other minute particles in the air, including traces of materials used to make bombs.
Inscentinel Ltd. has developed “Vapour Detection Instrumentation” where trained bees are used for detecting explosives, drugs etc. This approach couples trained honey bees with advanced video computer software to monitor the bee for their strategic reaction.
Training
So how are the ordinary bees trained to respond to TNT (explosives) to the way they respond to pollen? In the same way you train any animal to do almost anything i.e. by associating a particular stimulus with a reward. With Pavlov 's dog, the sound of a bell was associated with the smell of food which caused the dog to drool whenever the bell rang. Similarly, by associating the smell of bomb ingredients with sugar water it caused the bees to extend their proboscis, as if they were about to extract sweet nectar from a flower. This is Pavlovian training technique.
Process in Laboratory
Stealthy Insect Sensor Project:
The bees are trained and then they are harnessed into a special cassette to aid in the process of biochemical molecular recognition. Trained bees are then carefully strapped into a cartridge. With the bees strapped into small tubes, scientists release the chemical components which are used to make explosives like dynamite, C-4 and liquid bombs. Expecting the sugar water to follow, each trained bee extends its proboscis, which starts waving in the air, searching for nectar. A digital camera watches the bees carefully; if the bees are able to detect a trace of the odor that they have
Abstract
Police and military personnel have been using dogs to sniff out explosives for decades. According to scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mexico who have been working with honeybees since 1999, believe that bees can actually challenge dogs when it comes to sense of smell. The buzzing insects that seek out molecular hints of the pollen to make honey can easily detect other minute particles in the air, including traces of materials used to make bombs.
Inscentinel Ltd. has developed “Vapour Detection Instrumentation” where trained bees are used for detecting explosives, drugs etc. This approach couples trained honey bees with advanced video computer software to monitor the bee for their strategic reaction.
Training
So how are the ordinary bees trained to respond to TNT (explosives) to the way they respond to pollen? In the same way you train any animal to do almost anything i.e. by associating a particular stimulus with a reward. With Pavlov 's dog, the sound of a bell was associated with the smell of food which caused the dog to drool whenever the bell rang. Similarly, by associating the smell of bomb ingredients with sugar water it caused the bees to extend their proboscis, as if they were about to extract sweet nectar from a flower. This is Pavlovian training technique.
Process in Laboratory
Stealthy Insect Sensor Project:
The bees are trained and then they are harnessed into a special cassette to aid in the process of biochemical molecular recognition. Trained bees are then carefully strapped into a cartridge. With the bees strapped into small tubes, scientists release the chemical components which are used to make explosives like dynamite, C-4 and liquid bombs. Expecting the sugar water to follow, each trained bee extends its proboscis, which starts waving in the air, searching for nectar. A digital camera watches the bees carefully; if the bees are able to detect a trace of the odor that they have
References: • www.wikipedia.com • www.science.howstuffworks.com • www.usatoday.com • www.sciencedaily.com • www.news.cnet.com