
Ainos and ugo have partnered to offer a way of scent to service robots. Supply: Ainos
Not solely are robots getting smarter, however they’re additionally changing into extra perceptive, due to advances in synthetic intelligence and new sensors. Ainos Inc. final week introduced a strategic partnership with ugo Inc. to combine its AI Nostril know-how with ugo’s autonomous robotic.
The businesses stated the collaboration marks a milestone within the digitization of the sense of scent and can present new capabilities for robots in industrial security, healthcare, and public safety.
“This partnership can be a defining second in our journey to digitize scent,” stated Chun-Hsien (Eddy) Tsai, chairman, president and CEO of Ainos. “By combining AI Nostril’s cutting-edge olfactory sensing with ugo’s superior robotics, we’ll create a brand new class of clever machines that may see, hear, and now scent.”
Ainos know-how detects VOCs
San Diego, Calif.-based Ainos stated it develops medical and healthcare programs primarily based on its its proprietary AI Nostril and VELDONA applied sciences. The title “Ainos” combines “AI” and “Nostril” to suggest the firm‘s dedication to enabling AI with the power to scent and people to stay more healthy.
Its clinical-stage product pipeline contains telehealth-friendly point-of-care testing (POCT) programs powered by AI Nostril, VELDONA human and animal oral therapeutics, and human orphan medicine.
AI Nostril, initially developed for medical diagnostics, mimics human olfaction by detecting and analyzing risky natural compounds (VOCs). Backed by practically a decade of analysis and a robust patent portfolio, the sensor has already demonstrated its effectiveness in healthcare and industrial environments, in response to the corporate.
In Japanese semiconductor manufacturing amenities, AI Nostril has efficiently recognized 22 completely different VOCs with practically 80% accuracy. This demonstrates its potential to boost real-time security monitoring and environmental evaluation, stated Ainos.
Different efforts to offer robots a way of scent embody analysis at Tel Aviv College, TAST-E, and Scentience.ai.
ugo robots scent industrial alternatives
Based in 2018, ugo stated it combines some great benefits of remote-controlled robots and totally automated robots for operations tailor-made to every buyer website. “ugo” is the Tokyo-based firm‘s next-generation avatar robotic designed to collaborate with individuals and digitally rework enterprise.
“Olfaction is the subsequent frontier in robotics,” acknowledged Ken Matsui, consultant director of ugo. “Integrating AI Nostril into our robots will considerably increase their sensory intelligence, making them more practical in real-world functions throughout industries.”
“Our robots, together with ugo Professional, ugo Ex, and ugo mini, are deployed in Japanese sectors going through employee shortages, equivalent to safety patrols and inspection duties, in workplace buildings, knowledge facilities, manufacturing crops, and public amenities,” he added. “By equipping ugo robots with AI-driven scent detection, we’re taking automation to the subsequent degree, offering clever options that enhance office security, environmental monitoring, and healthcare assist.”
ugo is Japan’s largest service robotic firm by market share, in response to Fuji Keizai Group’s “2024 Version: Present Standing and Future Prospects of the Worldwide Robotic-Associated Market – Service Robotic Version” printed on Jan. 15, 2024.
Companions work to appreciate smarter robots
“Till now, robots have relied totally on imaginative and prescient, sound, and contact to understand their environment,” stated Ainos. “Odor has remained an unsolved technological problem — however Ainos is about to alter that.”
Ainos and ugo laid out steps of their plan to carry robots with AI-powered olfaction from idea to actuality:
- Expertise integration and prototyping: The companions stated they may merge AI Nostril with ugo robots and conduct preliminary efficiency testing.
- Actual-world pilot deployments: The businesses will validate their collectively developed system in industries equivalent to semiconductor manufacturing and public security.
- AI optimization and efficiency enhancement: They plan to refine system efficiency and AI fashions primarily based on real-world knowledge.
- International gommercialization and market growth: Ainos and ugo stated they may scale the deployment of AI Nostril-enabled robots worldwide.
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Ainos and ugo record use circumstances
Not solely can robots with olfactory notion present industrial worth, asserted Ainos and ugo, however they may additionally tackle labor shortages in essential industries worldwide. The businesses stated their programs may:
- Improve industrial security: Robots with a way of scent may very well be designed to alleviate human employees of hazardous inspections, liberating individuals to deal with high-value duties. They might detect gasoline leaks, determine poisonous chemical compounds, and forestall gear failures in semiconductor, chemical, and manufacturing crops.
- Strengthen public security: The built-in programs may help safety patrols by detecting explosives, narcotics, and dangerous substances in transportation hubs and demanding infrastructure. AI Nostril-integrated robots may present steady, automated surveillance in websites starting from airports to factories, stated the businesses.
- Advance environmental monitoring: They might present steady air high quality assessments, detect pollution, and assist good metropolis initiatives.
- Remodel healthcare: As demand for providers surges due to ageing populations, the necessity for medical and caregiving staffers is rising. Ainos and ugo stated their robots may analyze VOC samples for early illness detection, assist an infection management in hospitals, and monitor aged care amenities for hygiene and well being dangers.
“By combining AI-powered scent detection with autonomous robotics, Ainos and ugo will assist industries enhance effectivity, scale back operational prices, and improve office security whereas addressing the worldwide labor hole,” they stated.

Olfactory-enabled AI robots may serve a number of industrial use circumstances. Supply: Ainos
Robotic notion provided through a number of fashions
By integrating AI Nostril into ugo’s robotic platform, the businesses stated they’re in search of potential income alternatives via numerous enterprise fashions:
- Expertise licensing and {hardware} gross sales: Ainos will license AI Nostril know-how to ugo, enabling ugo to supply premium olfaction-enabled robots.
- Robotics-as-a-service (RaaS): Companies can deploy the robots via subscription-based fashions for steady air monitoring and security inspections.
- Cloud-based scent intelligence: AI Nostril-generated knowledge can be built-in into cloud analytics platforms, providing insights for good factories, healthcare, and safety functions.
- Upkeep and sensor optimization: Ongoing servicing, software program updates, and sensor calibration will guarantee long-term reliability and accuracy, stated the companions.
“Because the world faces growing challenges in workforce shortages, sustainability, and public security, this partnership will contribute to a better, more healthy, and safer future,” the businesses stated. “Ainos and ugo are dedicated to driving innovation that improves lives and helps industries in want of clever automation.”