Researchers in Japan have built a robot that can locate the source of an odor even if one of its two “antenna” sensors fails.
The system mimics how silkworm moths navigate using just one antenna when the other is lost. This addresses a major weakness in conventional odor‑tracking robots, which often stop working when a sensor fails.
A collaborative research team has developed a bio‑inspired robot that consistently finds odor sources indoors and outdoors. Unlike traditional systems, it continues to operate accurately even when one of its two chemical sensors is damaged or nonfunctional.
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The project was led by Assistant Professor Shunsuke Shigaki of the National Institute of Informatics (NII) , together with Professor Daisuke Kurabayashi of Science Tokyo and Associate Professor Dai Owaki of Tohoku University. Their findings were published in the peer‑reviewed journal npj Robotics on February 9, 2026.
Most odor‑guided robots are designed assuming both left and right sensors work perfectly. In real‑world conditions, such as disaster zones, sensors can break or become blocked, causing the robot to lose its ability to track smells. This limitation has made such systems unreliable for critical tasks like finding survivors or detecting hazardous leaks.
The team studied the silkworm moth, which can still navigate toward a mate or food using only one antenna. They translated this biological strategy into a robotic control algorithm. The robot adapts its movement pattern when one sensor fails, much like the moth does, allowing it to continue tracking the odor plume.
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This resilient design makes the robot practical for emergency and disaster relief. It could be deployed to locate trapped people by following their scent, detect gas leaks, or find explosives in unsafe environments. Because it tolerates sensor damage, it can operate longer without needing repair or replacement.
The robot has been tested indoors and outdoors with consistent accuracy, but the research is still at the prototype stage. Further work is needed to miniaturize the system and integrate it into fully autonomous platforms capable of handling multiple odor sources simultaneously.
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By applying biological principles of resilience to robotics, the study opens a new path for autonomous systems that can continue to function despite hardware failures. This approach moves beyond the assumption of perfect sensors and brings odor‑tracking robots closer to real‑world deployment in search‑and‑rescue, security, and environmental monitoring.
