Autonomous and Ultrasensitive Low-Power Metal Oxide Nanofiber Gas Sensor for Source Tracking and Localization

Current toxic gas detection methods in industrial and environmental settings are limited by their reliance on manual monitoring and stationary sensors. Here, we present an autonomous mobile gas sensing system offering real-time monitoring and precise gas source localization without the need for human intervention. Room-temperature gas sensors based on high specific surface area indium gallium zinc oxide nanofibers (IGZO NFs) are developed, which exhibit low power consumption (∼0.5 mW), exceptional sensitivity (∼1290% ppb^-1), and a low detection limit of 20 ppb for toxic NO₂. When integrated into an autonomous mobile platform and supported by adaptive biologically inspired algorithms, the system exhibits a source localization efficiency of ∼1.5 m min^-1, offering a remote, scalable, and efficient solution for detecting and localizing toxic gas leaks.