Digital scent technology
Digital scent technology (or olfactory technology) is the engineering discipline dealing with olfactory representation. It is a technology to sense, transmit and receive scent-enabled digital media (such as motion pictures, video games, virtual reality, extended reality, web pages, and music). The sensing part of this technology works by using olfactometers and electronic noses.
Technology
Today's modern advancements in biotechnology and nanotechnology are enabling digital scent technology to assist several industry sectors, including the medical technology, nanotechnology sectors,<ref name=":1" /><ref>"Perfumer & Flavorist - June 2021 - page43". perfumerflavorist.texterity.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.</ref> as well the entertainment and fashion industry sectors, as perfumers are utilizing this technology on neurological, emotional and psychological levels.<ref>US, FashionNetwork com. "Yves Saint Laurent Beauté to introduce multi-sensor headsets in stores for fragrance personalization". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.</ref>
Digital scent technology and scentography devices were exhibited during Milan Fashion Week in April 2013.<ref>Huggins, Rachel. "On the scent: Device bottles fragrance memories". On the scent: Device bottles fragrance memories | LS:N Global. Retrieved 2022-04-04.</ref> And the Fashion Institute of Technology also operates in this digital scent technology space.<ref>"Degree Details". www.fitnyc.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-04.</ref>
History
1950s–1960s
In the late 1950s, Hans Laube invented the Smell-O-Vision, a system which released scents during a film so that the viewer could "smell" what was happening in the film. The Smell-O-Vision faced competition with AromaRama, a similar system invented by Charles Weiss that emitted scents through the air-conditioning system of a theater.<ref>Bosley crowther (December 10, 1959). "Movie Review: Behind the Great Wall (1959) - Smells of China; 'Behind Great Wall' Uses AromaRama". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 September 2012.</ref> Variety dubbed the competition "the battle of the smellies".<ref>Gilbert, Avery (2008). Hollywood Psychophysics" What the Nose Knows. Crown Publishers. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-4000-8234-6.</ref>
Smell-O-Vision did not work as intended. According to a Variety review of the mystery comedy film Scent of Mystery (1960), which featured the one and only use of Smell-O-Vision, aromas were released with a distracting hissing noise and audience members in the balcony complained that the scents reached them several seconds after the action was shown on the screen. In other parts of the theater, the odors were too faint, causing audience members to sniff loudly in an attempt to catch the scent. These technical problems were mostly corrected after the first few showings, but the poor word of mouth, in conjunction with generally negative reviews of the film itself, led to the decline of Smell-O-Vision.[citation needed]
1980s
Since 1982,<ref>Persaud, Krishna; Dodd, George (1982). "Analysis of discrimination mechanisms in the mammalian olfactory system using a model nose". Nature. 299 (5881): 352–5. Bibcode:1982Natur.299..352P. doi:10.1038/299352a0. PMID 7110356. S2CID 4350740.</ref> research has been conducted to develop technologies, commonly referred to as electronic noses, that could detect and recognize odors and flavors. Application areas include food, medicine and the environment.
1990s–2000s
In 1999, DigiScents developed a computer peripheral device called iSmell, which was designed to emit a smell when a user visited a web site or opened an email. The device contained a cartridge with 128 "primary odors", which could be mixed to replicate natural and man-made odors. DigiScents had indexed thousands of common odors, which could be coded, digitized, and embedded into web pages or email.<ref>Martin, James A (1999-10-13). "Sniff That Web Site". PC World. Archived from the original on 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2007-07-06.</ref> After $20 million in investment, DigiScents was shut down in 2001 when it was unable to obtain the additional funding it required.<ref>"Digiscents runs out of cents". internetretailer.com. 31 May 2001.</ref>
In 2000, AromaJet developed a scent-generating device prototype called Pinoke.<ref>"Aroma Jet". www.microfab.com. Retrieved 10 December 2016.</ref> No new announcements have been made since December 2000.[citation needed]
In 2003, TriSenx (founded in 1999) launched a scent-generating device called Scent Dome, which by 2004 was tested by the UK internet service provider Telewest. This device was about the size of a teapot and could generate up to 60 different smells by releasing particles from one or more of 20 liquid-filled odor capsules. Computers fitted with a Scent Dome unit used software to recognize smell identifying codes embedded in an email or web page.<ref>"Smelly device would liven up web browsing". New Scientist. 2004-02-20.</ref>
In 2004, Tsuji Wellness and France Telecom developed a scent-generating device called Kaori Web, which comes with 6 different cartridges for different smells. The Japanese firm, K-Opticom, had placed special units of this device in their internet cafes and other venues until the end of the experiment on March 20, 2005.<ref>"These images STINK. Really". esato.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23.</ref> Also in 2004, the Indian inventor Sandeep Gupta founded SAV Products, LLC and claimed to show a scent-generating device prototype at CES 2005.<ref>"Gaming Smells - It's a Fact". MegaGames. 2004-12-30.</ref>
In 2005, researchers from the University of Huelva developed XML Smell, a protocol of XML that can transmit smells. The researchers also developed a scent-generating device and worked on miniaturising its size.<ref>"XML Smell language developed by university". The Inquirer. 2005-01-23. Archived from the original on September 22, 2011.</ref> Also in 2005, Thanko launched P@D Aroma Generator, a USB device that comes with 3 different cartridges for different smells.<ref>"Thanko USB P@D Aroma Generator". 7 February 2022.</ref>
In 2005, Japanese researchers announced that they are working on a 3D television with touch and smell that would be commercially available on the market by the year 2020.<ref>"3D TV with Touch, Smell by 2020?". betanews.com. 19 August 2005.</ref>
2010s
During ThinkNext 2010, the Israeli company Scentcom featured a demo of its scent-generating device.<ref>"ThinkNext 2010 – Scentcom". www.geektime.co.il. 16 April 2010.</ref>
In June 2011, a press release from the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering<ref>Hockmuth, Catherine. "Coming to TV Screens of the Future: a Sense of Smell". UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. UC San Diego. Retrieved 2 April 2013.</ref> announced a paper published in Angewandte Chemie<ref>Kim, Hyunsu; et al. (14 June 2011). "An X–Y Addressable Matrix Odor-Releasing System Using an On–Off Switchable Device". Angewandte Chemie. 50 (30): 6771–6775. doi:10.1002/anie.201102759. PMID 21674743.</ref> describing an optimization and miniaturization of a component that can select and release scents from 10,000 odors, that is intended to be part of a Digital scent solution for TVs and phones.
In October 2012, Aromajoin, a Japanese company, released a small-sized product named Aroma Shooter which contains 6 different solid-type scents.<ref>Karen Bremer Masuda (November 13, 2012). "Smell-o-Vision for the Digital Age: Japan Develops USB "Micro Aroma Shooter"". Soranews24.</ref>
In March 2013, a group of Japanese researchers unveiled a prototype invention they dubbed a "smelling screen". The device combines a digital display with four small fans that direct an emitted odor to a specific spot on the screen. The fans operate at a very low speed, making it difficult for the user to perceive airflow; instead they perceive the smell as coming directly out of the screen and object displayed at that location.<ref>Amanda Kooser (April 2, 2013). "Japanese scientists create 'Smell-O-Vision' screen". CNET. Retrieved April 3, 2013.</ref>
In July 2013, Raul Porcar (Spain), engineer and inventor developed and patented Olorama Technology, a wireless system with the aim to incorporate scents into movies, virtual reality, and all kind of audiovisual experiences.:<ref>Porcar, Raul (July 3, 2013). "Olorama incorporate scents into audiovisual experiences". DigitalAV Magazine.</ref>
In December 2013 Amos Porat inventor and CTO Of scent2you Israel Company has built several prototypes that can control scents.<ref>Shamah, David (December 20, 2013). "Scent2You hopes to bring 'Smell-O-Vision' to your tablet". Times of Israel.</ref>
At GDC 2015, FeelReal unveiled its odor generator VR peripheral<ref>Strickl, Derek (11 March 2015). "FeelReal Brings Sense of Smell To Virtual Reality". /vrworld.com.</ref> and in 2019 their Kickstarter campaign was founded.
In 2016 Surina Hariri, Nur Ain Mustafa, Kasun Karunanayaka and Adrian David Cheok from Imagineering Institute, Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia experimented with Electrical stimulation of olfactory receptors.<ref>Hariri, Surina (16 November 2016). "Electrical stimulation of olfactory receptors for digitizing smell". Proceedings of the 2016 workshop on Multimodal Virtual and Augmented Reality - MVAR '16. pp. 4:1–4:4. doi:10.1145/3001959.3001964. ISBN 9781450345590. S2CID 8690392 – via dl.acm.org/.</ref>
At CEATEC 2016, Aromajoin unveiled the first wearable scent device, Aroma Shooter Mini, which can be connected and controlled from PCs and smartphones. Besides, the company also introduced a demo scent-enabled chatting app named AromaMessage in the event.<ref>Tyler Lee (October 5, 2016). "Aromajoin Unveils The New Aromajoin Mini & Smartphone App". Retrieved October 30, 2018.</ref> <ref>"CEATEC JAPAN 2016 ( Official Website )". Archived from the original on 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2018-10-30.</ref>
In 2018 Vaqso VR began sales of Vaqso VR Dev kit which is an accessory for devices of virtual reality using which users can feel specific smells depending on what occurs in VR space. Set was available to Vaqso VR developers.<ref>https://tadviser.com/index.php/Product:Vaqso_VR_(devices_for_smells)</ref><ref>https://newatlas.com/vaqso-vr-smells/57344/</ref>
2020s
In 2020 OVR Technology introduced their Architecture of Scent® Platform. Which includes the ION™ Scent Device which attaches to an AR or VR Headset, a software suite including a plug-in for content developers to add scent triggers and geometries to virtual reality objects, and their in-house developed Scentware.™ The combination of this Hardware, Software, Scentware platform delivers precise scent molecules based on the user's interactions and can help deliver improved immersion and presence for virtual reality training and wellness applications.<ref>"AR Post: OVR Technology Creates First-of-Its-Kind Virtual Reality Experiences With Scents". 19 June 2020.</ref><ref>Alice (12 November 2021). "Smelling the Metaverse". Tech Trends.</ref>
In 2021, Dombeck and Radvansky at Northwestern University invented a system to control odors as a function of the user's movement in virtual reality,<ref>Dombeck, DA; Radvansky, BA (2021). "Introduction of olfactory cues into a virtual reality system". US Patent. US11092979B2.</ref> and demonstrated that this system can engage hippocampal place cells in darkness<ref>Radvansky, BA; Dombeck, DA (2018). "An olfactory virtual reality system for mice". Nature Communications. 9 (1): 839. Bibcode:2018NatCo...9..839R. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03262-4. PMC 5827522. PMID 29483530.</ref> and when synchronized with visual cues.<ref>Radvansky, BA; Oh, JY; Climer, JR; Dombeck, DA (2021). "Behavior determines the hippocampal spatial mapping of a multisensory environment". Cell Reports. 36 (5): 109444. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109444. PMC 8382043. PMID 34293330.</ref>
The 2023 film Postcard from Earth at Sphere features scents.<ref name="rs">Gray, Mark (2023-10-07). "'Postcard From Earth': Darren Aronofsky's 18K Film Rocks The Sphere". TV & Movies > TV & Movie Features. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 2023-12-01.</ref>
Current challenges
Current obstacles of mainstream adoption include the timing and distribution of scents, a fundamental understanding of human olfactory perception, the health dangers of synthetic scents, and other hurdles.
See also
References
External links
- DigiScents - A Revolution of the Senses archived on the Internet Archive (June 1, 2001)
