Nik Dennler, Ph. D.

Machine Olfaction · Chemical Sensing · Olfactory Robotics

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I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at ETH Zurich’s Human-centered Sensing Laboratory working on machine olfaction: how artificial chemical-sensing systems can capture and use the fast, intermittent structure of real-world odour environments.

My research spans high-speed and neuromorphic electronic noses, sensing and reconstruction in turbulent plumes, and olfactory robotics. I am particularly interested in closing the gap between the rich temporal information available to biological olfaction and the comparatively slow, static way artificial chemical sensors are usually operated.

Research

Ultrafast machine olfaction

Developing compact electronic noses that exploit high-bandwidth readout, dynamic operation, and transient features to resolve odours on millisecond timescales.

Turbulent chemical sensing

Measuring how real-world plume dynamics are transformed by chemical sensors, using synchronized optical ground truth to characterize, reconstruct, and benchmark dynamic sensing.

Olfactory robotics & embodied AI

Turning fast chemical sensing into closed-loop perception: source localization, plume navigation, and learning and control under intermittent, history-dependent observations.

news

Sep 9, 2026 Best Poster Award at Eurosensors 2026! We presented our work on synchronized PLIF and high-speed electronic-nose measurements in turbulent plumes, see Preprint
Apr 21, 2026 Our synchronized PLIF + 1 kHz electronic-nose resource for sensing in turbulent plumes is now available as a preprint. Preprint
May 6, 2025 Our perspective on neuromorphic principles for machine olfaction is published in Neuromorphic Computing and Engineering. Paper
Dec 16, 2024 Our analysis of generalization limits in a neuromorphic olfactory circuit is published in Nature Machine Intelligence. Paper
Nov 6, 2024 Our miniaturized high-speed electronic nose is published in Science Advances, resolving tens-of-milliseconds odour pulses and temporal patterns up to 60 Hz. Paper

selected publications

  1. Sci. Adv.
    High-speed odor sensing using miniaturized electronic nose
    Nik Dennler, Damien Drix, Tom P. A. Warner, Shavika Rastogi, and 5 more authors
    Science Advances 2024
  2. Nat. Mach. Intell.
    Limitations in odour recognition and generalization in a neuromorphic olfactory circuit
    Nik Dennler, André Schaik, and Michael Schmuker
    Nature Machine Intelligence 2024
  3. NCE
    Neuromorphic principles for machine olfaction
    Nik Dennler, Aaron True, André Schaik, and Michael Schmuker
    Neuromorphic Computing and Engineering 2025
  4. Drift in a popular metal oxide sensor dataset reveals limitations for gas classification benchmarks
    Nik Dennler, Shavika Rastogi, Jordi Fonollosa, Andre Van Schaik, and 1 more author
    Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 2022
  5. arXiv
    Odour sensing in turbulent plumes with high-speed electronic nose and non-invasive ground truth
    Nik Dennler, Elle Stark, Saimon Collaku, Lars Larson, and 5 more authors
    arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.19626 2026