Researchers Develop AI-Assisted Device to Transmit Smells Over Internet

Digital scents are being developed to add a new dimension to virtual worlds and long-distance communication.

Researchers have created an AI-assisted device that can transmit smells over the internet, initially focusing on a limited range of fragrances including orange, beer, and cake.

The technology is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionize the way we experience virtual environments by incorporating sensory details such as scents.

Smell remains an underdeveloped sense compared to sight and sound, according to Chunyu Yang at Ohio State University, who notes that vision can be broken down into simple colour components whereas smell involves complex chemistry involving different molecules.

Researchers have developed an electronic nose, or e-nose, to detect and distinguish between various scents. The device consists of arrays of sensors made from metal oxide, which change their resistance when different gaseous components bind to them.

These changes in resistance create distinct electrical signals that the researchers used to train a machine learning algorithm to recognize specific smells. To generate enough data for training, they exposed the sensors to each smell hundreds of times, making it one of the most challenging aspects of the study.

The e-nose was connected to a smell generation device called Scentronic, which contains miniature containers filled with liquids infused with five different scents: orange, cake, coffee, beer, and red wine. This setup allows for the simulation of various smells in a controlled environment.

Data from the e-nose is transmitted over the internet to the Scentronic device, enabling the creation of digital scents that can be used to enhance virtual worlds or simulate real-world environments.

The digital scents created by the Scentronic device can be released into the air through atomisers that respond to electric signals. These atomisers are attached above containers holding liquids that produce specific smells when the atomisers vibrate and release fine droplets of liquid into the air.

Yang, the developer behind this technology, experimented with different designs for releasing digital scents. She created a necklace and wristband by stringing atomisers onto them, as well as mounting them on handheld devices. This allowed her to test the effectiveness of the system in various settings.

When volunteers were exposed to digital scents released through a handheld device, they correctly identified the smells being transmitted 73% of the time on average. Yang is now looking to expand the range of aromas that can be created by the Scentronic device, allowing for more complex and nuanced scents to be generated.

The entertainment industry could be at the forefront of developing digital scent technology, using it to create even more immersive virtual worlds.

This technology also has potential health applications, particularly in enhancing the eating experience for soldiers and astronauts who rely on pre-packaged rations for sustenance during long periods away from home. The Scentronic system could release scents that make these rations more palatable, potentially improving morale as well as nutrition.

The device's capabilities may also be used to assess distortions in patients' sense of smell, which can occur due to post-viral illnesses or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.