MSS Forum is launched to promote establishment of a de facto standard for olfactory IoT sensing systems.

MSS is a new type of nanomechanical sensors jointly developed in 2011 by Genki Yoshikawa of National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), the late Dr. Heinrich Rohrer, and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

Unlike conventional cantilever-type sensors with optical read-out, MSS utilizes electric read-out based on piezoresistors, which enable drastic miniaturization. Owing to its unique structure, the sensitivity of MSS reaches approximately 100 times greater than that of the conventional piezoresistive nanomechanical sensors.

A compact sensor capable of detecting various substances in the atmosphere has long been demanded. Such artificial olfaction and its effective social implementation still remain unclear although there are many publications and publicities in this field recently.

As a key component of artificial olfaction, the MSS is expected to largely contribute to enhance people’s lives and medical care, bridging cyber and physical spaces by converting gaseous substances into multi-dimensional information.

The MSS has proved to be capable of measuring/analyzing scents and odors quantitatively in addition to qualitative assessments. For examples, alcohol contents of liquors and ripening stages of European pears can be quantitatively predicted through their odors; even though such odors are composed of highly complicated mixture of gas molecules.

Example:Successful Prediction of Alcohol Contents through Smells of Liquors