Orange Turbulent Smoke (VIDEO) Duke University This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Caption To get an idea of the complexity of the air currents inside even a simple U-shaped box, researchers used red chalk to follow the air plumes and movements. It's complexities like these that make it difficult for robots to simply "follow their nose" to locate sources of gaseous leaks. Duke researchers have built a robot that, rather than just following the strongest scent, is plugging measurements of concentration and airflow into a complex partial differential equation and then deciding where the most useful position to take another measurement is. By repeating this process, it can find an ethanol source in just a dozen or two tries in a complex environment with multiple sources. Credit Reza Khodayi-mehr Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.