Electronic equipment for detecting truffles|uses polymeric detectors whose electrical resistance varies with amount of volatile material in air

In the truffle detection appts., ambient air from near the ground being searched is drawn into an inverted funnel (12) and then through a sampling head (18) by a pump (17) which is located in a supporting tube (13). Polymeric detector heads (1) are fixed half way along the sampling head (18).The upper end of the tube (13) has a handle (15) attached to a box (14) which houses a microcomputer and its peripherals which allow the relative changes in the electrical resistances of the various detectors to be compared to those corresponding to the presence of truffles.ADVANTAGE - Difficulties of training and transporting dogs or pigs are avoided as well as operating losses due to animals eating truffles.