A new device lets you smell roses in VR
The Matrix is here, researchers have created a system that brings scents to the world of VR.
Engineer Xinge Yu and his team from the City University of Hong Kong have developed a lightweight, flexible, and wireless device that allows users to experience scents in the virtual world. By precisely delivering fragrances such as lavender, pineapple, and green tea, this groundbreaking olfactory interface takes virtual reality (VR) to a whole new level of sensory immersion.
In the world of VR, visual and auditory interfaces have advanced significantly, and touch interfaces are improving. However, one crucial sense has been missing: smell. Engineer Xinge Yu and his colleagues set out to change that by creating a wearable, skin-integrated olfactory interface that can be taken anywhere and used anytime, “Bringing smell into VR expands it into another dimension,” Yu says. “We wanted to develop something in a wearable, skin-integrated format that people can go anywhere with and use anytime.”
Courtesy of Xinge Yu, Nature Communications
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the team’s design offers precise control over odor intensity. Traditional smell interfaces relied on liquid perfume and atomizers, but they were rigid, had limited operating time, and lacked control over intensity, making them impractical for VR systems. The new design uses small paraffin wax pads infused with scents, heated by an electrode to release the odor. A thermistor controls the temperature, determining the intensity, and a magnetic induction coil cools the electrode down to shut off the scent.
The study describes two device formats: one that can be attached to the top lip with two odor generators, and another worn like a face mask with nine generators. Both formats offer customization with a selection of 30 odors, allowing for the creation of thousands of possible fragrances at varying intensities. The devices provide a delay between activation and scent delivery as short as 1.44 seconds, enabling a seamless sensory experience.
Beyond VR, the potential applications are vast. Smell can be used to communicate messages, evoke emotions, and even improve well-being and memory recall. The researchers suggest the device could assist in alleviating a bad mood, helping individuals with age-related cognitive decline, and aiding olfactory training for those who lost their sense of smell due to COVID-19.
The team is already working on miniaturizing the device further, aiming to make it five to ten times smaller in the future. With this advancement, the possibilities for scent-enabled VR and its applications continue to expand, enhancing our sensory experiences in digital worlds.
