From a Cattle Property to NASA: The Agscent Story and the Race to Teach AI How to Smell

From a Cattle Property to NASA: The Agscent Story and the Race to Teach AI How to Smell

From The Unicorns Podcast by Media + Capital Partners

June 4, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Agscent's journey from livestock productivity to teaching AI how to smell, featuring insights from Dr Bronwyn Darlington.

In this episode, Justin speaks with Dr Bronwyn Darlington, founder and CEO of Agscent, an Australian deep-tech company using AI, nano-sensors and NASA-derived technology to analyse breath, smell and biological signals in real time. What began as an effort to solve a practical livestock productivity challenge has evolved into a much bigger ambition: teaching machines how to smell. The conversation explores one of the next frontiers of artificial intelligence. While recent advances in AI have focused on understanding text, images and speech, researchers and technology companies around the world are now developing systems capable of detecting and interpreting the chemical signatures contained in breath, air and biology. Darlington explains how a chance discovery inside NASA's public patent library led to a partnership with the US space agency after she realised NASA scientists were working on many of the same molecules she was identifying in livestock breath. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Justin

Guest: Dr Bronwyn Darlington

Topics covered

  • artificial intelligence
  • deep-tech
  • nano-sensors
  • livestock productivity
  • chemical signatures
  • NASA technology

Keywords

  • AI
  • smell
  • Agscent
  • NASA
  • nano-sensors
  • breath analysis
  • biological signals

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Agscent, NASA, US space agency

More episodes of The Unicorns Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Unicorns Podcast podcast page.