
Ainos and ugo have partnered to provide a way of scent to service robots. Supply: Ainos
Not solely are robots getting smarter, however they’re additionally turning into extra perceptive, because of advances in synthetic intelligence and new sensors. Ainos Inc. final week introduced a strategic partnership with ugo Inc. to combine its AI Nostril expertise 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 shall 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 expertise detects VOCs
San Diego, Calif.-based Ainos stated it develops medical and healthcare techniques primarily based on its its proprietary AI Nostril and VELDONA applied sciences. The identify “Ainos” combines “AI” and “Nostril” to indicate the firm‘s dedication to enabling AI with the power to scent and people to stay more healthy.
Its clinical-stage product pipeline consists of telehealth-friendly point-of-care testing (POCT) techniques powered by AI Nostril, VELDONA human and animal oral therapeutics, and human orphan medication.
AI Nostril, initially developed for medical diagnostics, mimics human olfaction by detecting and analyzing unstable natural compounds (VOCs). Backed by almost a decade of analysis and a robust patent portfolio, the sensor has already demonstrated its effectiveness in healthcare and industrial environments, in keeping with the corporate.
In Japanese semiconductor manufacturing services, AI Nostril has efficiently recognized 22 totally different VOCs with almost 80% accuracy. This demonstrates its potential to reinforce real-time security monitoring and environmental evaluation, stated Ainos.
Different efforts to provide robots a way of scent embrace analysis at Tel Aviv College, TAST-E, and Scentience.ai.
ugo robots scent business alternatives
Based in 2018, ugo stated it combines the benefits of remote-controlled robots and absolutely 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 folks and digitally remodel enterprise.
“Olfaction is the following frontier in robotics,” said Ken Matsui, consultant director of ugo. “Integrating AI Nostril into our robots will considerably develop 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 dealing with employee shortages, equivalent to safety patrols and inspection duties, in workplace buildings, information facilities, manufacturing crops, and public services,” he added. “By equipping ugo robots with AI-driven scent detection, we’re taking automation to the following stage, offering clever options that enhance office security, environmental monitoring, and healthcare assist.”
ugo is Japan’s largest service robotic firm by market share, in keeping with Fuji Keizai Group’s “2024 Version: Present Standing and Future Prospects of the Worldwide Robotic-Associated Market – Service Robotic Version” revealed on Jan. 15, 2024.
Companions work to comprehend smarter robots
“Till now, robots have relied totally on imaginative and prescient, sound, and contact to understand their environment,” stated Ainos. “Scent has remained an unsolved technological problem — however Ainos is about to vary that.”
Ainos and ugo laid out steps of their plan to convey robots with AI-powered olfaction from idea to actuality:
- Know-how integration and prototyping: The companions stated they are going to 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 information.
- World gommercialization and market enlargement: Ainos and ugo stated they are going to scale the deployment of AI Nostril-enabled robots worldwide.
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Ainos and ugo listing use circumstances
Not solely can robots with olfactory notion present business worth, asserted Ainos and ugo, however they might additionally tackle labor shortages in vital industries worldwide. The businesses stated their techniques may:
- Improve industrial security: Robots with a way of scent could possibly be designed to alleviate human employees of hazardous inspections, releasing folks to give attention to high-value duties. They may detect gasoline leaks, determine poisonous chemical substances, and stop tools failures in semiconductor, chemical, and manufacturing crops.
- Strengthen public security: The built-in techniques may help safety patrols by detecting explosives, narcotics, and unsafe substances in transportation hubs and important infrastructure. AI Nostril-integrated robots may present steady, automated surveillance in websites starting from airports to factories, stated the businesses.
- Advance environmental monitoring: They may present steady air high quality assessments, detect pollution, and assist sensible metropolis initiatives.
- Rework 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 services 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 supplied 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 varied enterprise fashions:
- Know-how licensing and {hardware} gross sales: Ainos will license AI Nostril expertise 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 information shall be built-in into cloud analytics platforms, providing insights for sensible 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 rising 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.”