Vazor 136
Reproduced from: www.martinfrost.ws
This tiny insect that many people fear may now play an important role in the fight against terrorism. As part of research funded by the U.S. military, Inscentinel, a biological research company has trained honeybees to detect explosive materials that even dogs are unable to sniff out.
The bees are restrained within individual holders, designed to prevent stings, inside a black box detector dubbed the Vazor136. Each Vazor136 has 36 bees. At the press of a button, the bees are exposed to a sample of air. If it contains the substance they are trained to detect, they stick their tongues out in expectation of food. The device’s advanced video equipment software monitors the bees’ reactions, and this is recorded and displayed on a PDA screen (Docherty, n.d.).
In comparison with dogs, honeybees only require a few minutes of training, which is much less than that for dogs. They are also more sensitive, being able to detect an extremely small amount of odour. Currently, theVazor136 is used mainly in detecting land mines, but in the near future, it will be used at border checkpoints to examine vehicles and cargo.