Convergence Accelerator Workshop - Chemical sensing with an olfaction analogue: high-dimensional, bio-inspired sensing and computation

融合加速器研讨会 - 具有嗅觉模拟的化学传感：高维、仿生传感和计算

• 批准号: 2231512
• 负责人: Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2023-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2231512&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Convergence; Accelerator; Workshop; Chemical; sensing

Biological olfactory systems are the most exquisite chemical detectors on the planet. Yet, unlike other sensory systems (e.g., vision, hearing), whose artificial analogues have revolutionized society (e.g., image and speech recognition), mimicking olfaction remains a grand challenge. This is in part due to the fact that, to recognize odors, biological noses use a large number of sensors –an estimated 400 sensors in humans, each sensor detecting different properties of odor molecules. Building an odor-detection instrument with such high number and diversity of sensors has not been possible to date. But this is changing. New sensing technologies have emerged over the past decade that make it possible to develop large and diverse arrays of chemical sensors. Promising technologies include those that use the same sensors as biological noses, miniaturization techniques such as nano-photonic and micro-electromechanical systems, and sensors that can detect multiple properties of an odor molecule. In parallel, there have been significant advances in algorithms to mimic odor processing in the biological olfactory system, and in neuro-morphic hardware to efficiently process large amounts of data. In concert, these advances offer tremendous potential for new breakthroughs in artificial olfaction and chemical sensing that until recently were technically implausible. However, this requires bringing together a diverse group of experts who currently work largely independently across disciplines (e.g., biochemistry, perception, bioengineering, machine learning, healthcare, manufacturing). To address this issue, a cross-disciplinary team of researchers will organize an interactive workshop to (1) discuss opportunities from emerging sensing and computing technologies that are ready to be turned into products and applications, and (2) identify application areas in which they can have the greatest societal impact, such as environmental monitoring, healthcare, quality control of food and beverages, precision agriculture, and homeland security. The goal of this workshop is to create a comprehensive 3-year roadmap for translational research in artificial chemo-sensory systems that may lead to new products and applications. The research team will collaborate with a facilitator company to design a 4-day workshop with a variety of convergent and divergent activities, to be performed in small groups and individually. Through these activities, participants will be prompted to define specifications for artificial chemosensory systems, identify the most promising sensing technologies that are ready for translation, and applications and end-user communities to engage. Throughout the workshop, participants will be divided into small breakouts for group exercises. These groups may be formed randomly or engineered based on some factor of importance (e.g., diversity of expertise, career stage, sector). Depending on the activity, it may be beneficial to place participants in breakout based on commonality vs diversity. The research team and the facilitation team will work together to determine, for each activity, the best way of organizing participants. The workshop will be structured into a series of steps to “define” the need, “identify the solution” and then “target applications.” In Step 1, participants will develop key requirements and specifications for the chemical sensors and sensor systems of the future. In Step 2, participants will identify potential approaches in five areas: sample delivery, biological sensors, micro-analytical instruments, multiparameter sensors, and computational analysis. Finally, in State 3, participants will identify application areas where this technology could have societal impact in 2-, 5- and 10-year timeframes, as well as identify those in the end-user communities who should be engaged in the short, medium and long term. Participants will be recruited from four major stakeholders: industry, non-profit organizations, government organizations, and academia, to cover a broad range of disciplines, including basic science (materials science, biochemistry, sensory perception, neuroscience, analytical chemistry), engineering (bio- and neuromorphic engineering, instrumentation, machine learning), applications (healthcare, environment, quality control, agriculture, military, security), as well as product design and manufacturing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

生物嗅觉系统是地球上最独特的化学探测器。然而，与其他感觉系统（例如，愿景，听力）不同，他们的人工类比彻底改变了社会（例如，图像和言语识别），模仿嗅觉仍然是一个巨大的挑战。这部分是由于以下事实：要识别气味，生物鼻子使用大量传感器（估计人类中的400个传感器），每个传感器都检测到气味分子的不同特性。迄今为止无法建立具有如此大数量和多样性的传感器多样性的气味检测工具。但这正在改变。在过去的十年中，新的传感器技术已经出现，使得开发大型和多样化的化学传感器。有前途的技术包括使用与生物鼻子相同的传感器的技术，小型化技术，例如纳米光子和微电机械系统，以及可以检测气味分子多个特性的传感器。同时，在生物嗅觉系统中模仿气味处理的算法和神经型硬件中的算法已取得了重大进展，以有效地处理大量数据。在一致的情况下，这些进步为人工嗅觉和化学敏感性的新突破带来了巨大的潜力，直到最近才是可行的。但是，这需要将目前主要在跨学科独立工作（例如生物化学，感知，生物工程，机器学习，医疗保健，制造业）的专家组成。为了解决这个问题，一个跨学科的研究人员将组织一个互动研讨会，以（1）从新兴的敏感性和计算技术中讨论机会，这些技术和计算技术准备将其转变为产品和应用程序，以及（2）确定他们可以具有最大的社会影响的应用领域，例如环境监测，医疗保健，质量和卧室的质量控制，并提供了适应性的质量控制，并提供了适应性的质量控制，以及适用于户外的农业。该研讨会的目的是创建一个全面的3年路线图，用于翻译人工化学感官系统的研究，这可能导致新产品和应用。研究团队将与一家协助公司合作，设计一个为期4天的研讨会，其中包括各种融合和不同的活动，将以小组和单独进行。通过这些活动，将提示参与者定义人工化学感应系统的规格，确定准备翻译的最有希望的传感器技术，以及应用程序和最终用户社区参与。通过研讨会，参与者将分为小组锻炼。这些群体可以根据某种重要性（例如，专业知识，职业阶段，行业的多样性）进行随机或设计。根据活动的不同，将参与者根据共同点与多样性进行突破可能是有益的。研究团队和设施团队将共同努力，以确定每项活动的最佳组织参与者。研讨会将构成一系列步骤，以“定义”需求，“识别解决方案”，然后再“目标应用程序”。在步骤1中，参与者将针对未来化学传感器和传感器系统制定关键要求和规格。在步骤2中，参与者将确定五个领域的潜在方法：样品传递，生物传感器，微型分析仪器，多吸光传感器和计算分析。最后，在州3中，参与者将确定该技术在2年，5年和10年的时间表中可能会产生社会影响的应用领域，并确定最终用户社区中应该参与短期，中期和长期的人。 Participants will be recruited from four major stakeholders: industry, non-profit organizations, government organizations, and academia, to cover a broad range of disciplines, including basic science (materials science, biochemistry, sensory perception, neuroscience, analytical chemistry), engineering (bio- and neuromorphic engineering, instrumentation, machine learning), applications (healthcare, environment, quality control, agriculture, military, security),以及产品设计和制造。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估，被认为是珍贵的支持。