Pheromones hold a high position of importance among animals and humans alike. Although, we may only notice it a little because of a lack of awareness and research. However, for many animals, pheromones serve a crucial role in communication and interaction with their Umwelts. Furthermore, these chemical signals are an essential element of existence for many of them. For example, ants & bees (the most hardworking of the lot..!!).
“If you get stung, lick it," I said. "Bees have over two hundred pheromones they use to communicate with each other, and they leave some on your skin when they sting to alert the other bees that there's danger. - Author: Karen White ”
We, as humans, do like to play God from time to time. We keep on replicating (*read inventing) things from nature. Very recently, we even tested our own Sun!! The sheer audacity!
So with this audacity, some fellow science enthusiasts attempted mimicking pheromones in artificial creatures.
Robotic Bees
These artificial bee creatures track the natural scent trail left by actual bees. The pheromone sensors on these artificial creatures can detect the flowers that bees visit, the most frequented areas, and other resources. They also provide valuable input on how bees interact with their environment. The collaboration and teamwork displayed by bees, with the help of pheromones, show the intricate communication between such simple creatures with astonishingly high levels of capabilities. This information is crucial for understanding our ecology with bees and developing advanced robotics that could utilise this function for superior communication capabilities.
Read further on "How Robot Ants Communicate with Pheromone Lights"
Smell-O-Vision
Another very strikingly different use of smelling bot has been achieved by Japan. A smelling bot in the form of a screen that emits different smells and odours from time to time enhances the movie viewing experience(we all share a bit of weirdness on this subject). This particular bot has been used for tracking as well.
Very recently, a team of similar bots were trained by a moth piloting the primary device. The aim of the exercise was to train the bots for different smells.
We are not that far, I guess! Soon we might have the “Insects and Bugs diversity and inclusion Programme”.
Activities like farming are finding effective use of this technology right now. It helps in conserving the bee population and identifying pests and damaged crops. These bots can release pheromones that can even drive unwanted pests/insects out of the fields.
These bots reveal to us how there are innumerable ways of achieving communication in the nature. It is more than vision or speech that can lead to communication. Our sense of smell is not confined to only good or bad, or WTF is that smell!!
It is more about the unique interaction between the being and its Umwelt. The perception of the surroundings and understanding of their intricacies can be achieved in numerous ways.
Being a human can come through different ways of being. It is the sense of differentiating between “I” and everything else.
If I were to imagine an artificial creature that utilized pheromones, it would be:
SMELTROLL!
This bot will not serve a very great, or maybe, the purpose of helping people. It would rather embarrass everyone around it. This bot will detect any kind of farts in the room, bad-smelling shoes, garlic smell or any other strong, pungent smell. It will not stop only at that, but it will also announce it loudly through a sound or light signal. If possible, click a picture of them with a smile.
Robotic Pollinator Bees
Swarm Based Communication Among Bots
A pilot Moth training bots to smell!