New start-up, in which SACMI holds a 55% stake, founded to develop a cutting-edge generation of ‘electronic noses’. President Paolo Mongardi: “We’re looking for technologies, expertise and start-ups capable of breaking new ground and diversifying our businesses. With OSMI, we’re building on a research journey begun 25 years ago.”
As it speeds up its search for new products and markets, SACMI is also turning to the biomedical sector by leveraging the wealth of expertise it has accumulated during more than 20 years’ research into electronic olfactory systems.
Hence OSMI, a new start-up founded on 29th May, with SACMI holding a 55% stake and Olfatronic Srl (an offshoot of the Polytechnic University of Milan) holding 45%. Its goal: to develop and market a new generation of intelligent 'electronic noses” that can readily be adapted to multiple applications: from environmental monitoring to food and packaging, from industrial process control to groundbreaking biomedical uses.
For SACMI, this operation is part of a clear strategy: to combine continuous innovation in established businesses with the pursuit of new technologies, start-ups, spin-offs, and specialized skills with the potential to generate fresh industrial opportunities.
“Searching for new products and technologies is one of the key ways SACMI builds the businesses of tomorrow,” points out Paolo Mongardi, President of SACMI. “We closely monitor the world of start-ups and research, especially where we encounter expertise that can complement our own and be converted into solid industrial applications. The goal is also to diversify and gradually open up new markets where SACMI can leverage the innovation capabilities it has built over time.”
A SACMI system first conceived 25 years ago
OSMI isn’t starting from scratch. On the contrary, it builds on a line of research in which SACMI first began investing in 2001 when it developed the EOS (Electronic Olfactory System), an ‘electronic nose’ that used sensors to recognize and measure the olfactory signature of substances and processes. OSMI now takes that research to the next level.
Over the years, EOS technology was developed and applied in various fields: it’s been used in the food industry, for environmental monitoring, and for the continuous monitoring of odorous emissions and industrial processes.
“We recognized the potential of electronic noses 25 years ago,” continues Paolo Mongardi. “For its time, the technology was pioneering. Over the years, SACMI has continued to upgrade it and explore new applications. Today, sophisticated sensor technology and massive advances in computing power, machine learning and artificial intelligence allow us to take a further leap forward. With OSMI, we aim to build on our research legacy and apply it to new products and markets”.
Potential in biomedicine
Biomedicine is the most innovative frontier of the project. The research aims to explore the potential of electronic olfactory systems as tools to aid analysis and monitoring of certain physiological or pathological conditions.
The scientific principle is based on the ability to detect - via special sensor arrays - the molecules and volatile organic compounds associated with variations in metabolism. In the long term, such applications could be developed as aids to analysis, monitoring and preventive diagnostics (always in conjunction with traditional clinical protocols and in compliance with the necessary validation and certification processes).
The biomedical field is a key area of the scientific partnership with the Polytechnic University of Milan: the latter has provided the project with valuable complementary expertise in the fields of chemistry, sensor technology, electronics and bioengineering.
This new platform is based on an approach that has been completely re-thought, also from a technological standpoint. The new electronic nose uses various sensor types and a range of self-learning, pattern recognition, machine learning and AI techniques, the goal being to build a shared hardware foundation on which to recognize and classify different ‘fingerprints’. Not just a single sensor, then, but a platform that can be ‘trained’ for different applications.
One platform, multiple industries, many fields of application
This is what makes the project so interesting from an industrial diversification perspective: the same platform can be developed for environmental monitoring purposes, the food and packaging industries, process monitoring and, gradually, for use in healthcare.
Initial field trials have already been held in industrial and environmental settings. The team has been working on the next generation of the project since 2023. For example, one already-tested application sees it used as a sensor network near a waste treatment facility, the goal being to detect any drifting from acceptable parameters and automatically generate alerts.
These markets also serve as a vital testing ground for the platform while the necessarily longer process of developing biomedical applications proceeds - applications that will require certification and clinical trials.
The initiative builds on the decades-long collaboration between SACMI and the Politecnico in key areas of industrial and applied research. The goal is to develop, by 2027, the broadest possible portfolio of validated solutions across a mix of fields and bring them to market, both directly and with the support of the SACMI team/sales network already dedicated to the EOS project.