Electronic nose puts police detection dogs to the test

Associate Professor Maiken Ueland, Director of the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER), said cadaver detection dogs are an incredibly valuable tool but training them is complex.

“We don’t know exactly what they are smelling – whether it’s a single compound or a combination of compounds,” she said. “The electronic nose can provide greater certainty during training by showing whether decomposition odour is present in an area, including when a dog does not alert.”

The researchers see the electronic nose as a complementary tool rather than a replacement for detection dogs. 

“Dogs have a superior sense of smell and can search an area rapidly, while the technology can tell us more about the chemicals being detected,” said Associate Professor Ueland. “The electronic nose can act as a bridge between the extraordinary scent picture available to a dog and the chemical signals that humans can measure and understand.

“In mass disasters or other hazardous environments, it may be too dangerous to send in people or dogs. The electronic nose could offer another option for searching those areas safely.”

Associate Professor Ueland said the research shows the value of academics working directly with industry. 

“Police identified the electronic nose’s potential as a dog-training tool – an application we hadn’t originally considered,” she said. 

While this research was a pilot study, the team wants to conduct a larger, longer-term study.

“Our next step is to expand this pilot into a larger, longer-term study involving multiple donors, more dogs and repeated site visits,” said Associate Professor Ueland. “The challenge will be maintaining rigorous controls, so dogs and handlers don’t become familiar with the site or receive unintended clues.”