On July 23, 2026, an English-language press release highlighting a recent study led by Daigo Terutsuki, Director of BIDEROS, was published on the international science news platform EurekAlert!
The research team developed a water-retaining hydrogel electrode that stabilizes the interface between excised silkworm moth antennae and electroantennogram (EAG) recording electrodes. Under the tested indoor, room-temperature conditions, the hydrogel electrode retained more than 92% of its initial EAG response amplitude after seven hours. In contrast, a conventional grooved gold-plated metal electrode fell below the study's predefined 50% practical-usability threshold by four hours.
The stabilized EAG sensor was also mounted on a lightweight drone. During hovering tests, the system recorded odor-evoked EAG signals. In separate proof-of-concept free-flight tests, EAG threshold crossings triggered a programmed stop-and-advance sequence.
Rather than optimizing odor-source localization, this study addressed a fundamental challenge in mobile biohybrid sensing: maintaining the electrical stability of a biological odor sensor for a sufficient period of time to enable its operation on a moving robotic platform.
The paper was co-first-authored by Reina Omori, Kie Kondo, and Kento Yamauchi and was published in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. The findings provide an important technological foundation for future odor-sensing drones and mobile robots, with potential applications in disaster response, gas-leak detection, infrastructure inspection, and environmental monitoring.
This study represents one of the key research outcomes of BIDEROS, which promotes the integration of biological sensing functions, interface engineering, and robotics to create next-generation biohybrid systems.
EurekAlert! press release
Original paper
R. Omori, K. Kondo, K. Yamauchi, et al., "Engineering electroantennogram interfaces through agar-based hydrogels for multi-hour recording and drone-mounted biohybrid odor sensing," Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, Vol. 467, Article 140445, 2026.