Automated VOC sensing for earlier detection of disease

RoboScientific develops automated volatile organic compound, or VOC, sensing technology for earlier detection of disease and biological change in livestock, poultry, crops and stored produce.

All living organisms release VOCs into the air or breath. When health status changes, these VOC patterns can also change. Disease, infection, stress, spoilage or contamination can create a different biochemical signature before visible symptoms or obvious deterioration are present.

RoboScientific’s technology is designed to detect these changes using proprietary sensor arrays, automated sampling systems and machine-learning analysis. By recognising disease-related VOC patterns, the platform can provide earlier, non-invasive insight into the condition of the animal, flock, crop or stored product being monitored.

How the technology works

RoboScientific’s VOC analysers use arrays of sensors designed to respond to different groups of volatile compounds. Each sensor responds in a slightly different way, creating a unique response pattern, or digital fingerprint, for the sample being analysed.

These sensor responses are processed using pattern recognition and machine-learning models to classify the VOC profile and identify changes associated with specific disease or condition states. The process is similar in principle to the way the human nose and brain work together to recognise different odours, but with automated, repeatable analysis designed for practical farm and food-production environments.

Non-invasive monitoring

The technology can analyse air, breath or sample headspace without touching the animal, crop or product. This makes it particularly suitable for applications where regular monitoring is needed without additional handling, stress or disruption.

In poultry and pig buildings, air can be sampled from the production environment. In calves and dairy cows, breath sampling can be incorporated into existing routines such as feeding or milking. In protected crops and stored produce, air sampling can be used to investigate changes linked to disease, spoilage or contamination.

From sample to alert

A typical monitoring process involves collecting an air or breath sample, passing it across RoboScientific’s sensor array, analysing the resulting VOC fingerprint and converting the result into an interpreted output. Depending on the application, this can support automated alerts, trend monitoring or further investigation by the farmer, grower or veterinary team.

The aim is to move disease detection from occasional visual checks or laboratory testing towards more regular, data-led surveillance. Earlier warning can support faster intervention, improved welfare, reduced losses and more efficient use of labour and treatments.

Built for real-world environments

RoboScientific’s technology has been developed with practical agricultural use in mind. Farm environments can be dusty, humid and variable, so monitoring systems need to be robust, repeatable and simple to operate.

The company is developing a range of devices and sampling approaches, from handheld VOC analysers to automated monitors for buildings, feeding systems, milking systems and controlled growing environments. These systems are designed to apply the same core VOC sensing platform across multiple sectors, including poultry, pigs, calves, dairy, protected crops and stored produce.

A platform for earlier biological insight

RoboScientific’s core technology is a platform. By adapting sensor arrays, sampling methods and machine-learning models, the same underlying approach can be applied to different diseases, species and environments.

The company’s lead commercial focus is poultry health monitoring, with further development across pigs, calves, dairy and crop applications. Across each sector, the objective is the same: to provide earlier, non-invasive information that helps producers make faster, better-informed decisions.