Practical Smell-O-Vision could soon be coming to a VR headset near you

Virtual reality (VR) has made big strides in sights and sounds. But the sense of smell has been harder to bring into the virtual world.

The idea of "Smell-O-Vision" isn't new. The 1939 movie Scent of Mystery tried it. Scents were released from behind seats, timed with the film. This system, called the Smell Brain, used compressed air. But it was noisy and didn't spread scents evenly, leading to mixed reviews. Later devices for gaming were often bulky and hard to use with VR headsets.

A New Wearable Scent System

Now, a team has created a smaller, wearable device. Professor Takamichi Nakamoto and Zhe Zou from Institute of Science Tokyo, along with Kelvin Cheng from Rakuten Institute of Technology, developed it. This new system works better with current VR setups.

Nakamoto explained that their small scent generator can be worn with a VR device. This lets users experience scents that match virtual environments as they explore. It's designed for a single user at a time.

The team made the control circuit smaller. They also improved how fragrances are supplied and controlled. The device can blend up to eight different scents in real time. These can be combined in varying amounts to create many different smells.

The system uses a micro-dispenser. This emits tiny drops of liquid fragrance. Ultrasound waves then turn these droplets into a fine mist. An electro-osmotic pump uses electrical force to control the scent delivery precisely. This ensures a steady scent with minimal delays.

Nakamoto added that they created virtual travel content using these devices. Users could visit different virtual places and experience their scents. This made for a more realistic travel experience.

Tests showed that the added scents made the virtual environment feel more real. Participants felt more present in the VR world.

Deep Dive & References

Wearable Scent Generation System for Virtual Reality - IEEE Sensors Journal, 2024