A smelling screen is a type of
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 re ...
, unveiled in 2013, that combines a display screen, similar to a
television or
computer monitor
A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial or textual form. A discrete monitor comprises a visual display, support electronics, power supply, housing, electrical connectors, and external user controls.
The di ...
, with an odor emitting device capable of pinpointing the smell to a specific portion of the displayed image. It is believed to be the first device to incorporate smells into a television screen, though certainly not the first to synchronize smell with a ''displayed'' image (see
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 re ...
).
Description
The smelling screen combines a digital display with four small fans, one at each corner of the display. Odor stored in tiny gel packets is emitted and blown parallel to the screen.
By varying the speed and strength of each fan, an emitted odor is moved 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 he or she perceives the smell as coming directly out of the screen and object displayed at that location.
Development
In 2013, a group of researchers from the
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology unveiled a prototype smelling screen to the public at the
ACM
ACM or A.C.M. may refer to:
Aviation
* AGM-129 ACM, 1990–2012 USAF cruise missile
* Air chief marshal
* Air combat manoeuvring or dogfighting
* Air cycle machine
* Arica Airport (Colombia) (IATA: ACM), in Arica, Amazonas, Colombia
Computing
* ...
/
IEEE Virtual Reality Conference.
The product is in the early stages of development with no plans for commercial distribution in the near future.
See also
*
iSmell
The iSmell is a commercial application of digital scent technology. Personal Scent Synthesizer developed by DigiScents Inc. was a small device that can be connected to a computer through a universal serial bus (USB) port and powered using any ordi ...
*
Smell-O-Vision
References
{{reflist
External links
Smelling screen research paperpublished by the IEEE Computer Society
Olfaction
2013 in science