Olfaction is a powerful sense and a prerequisite for our mouths to detect flavor. These new interfaces are a notable development that could change how we experience VR. But the effort bombed: during screenings, scents were either delayed or too faint to notice. In 1960, “Smell-O-Vision” made its first and only appearance with the film Scent of Mystery, which released odors during key plot points via air conditioning.
“It’s tackling a core problem with smell in VR: How do we miniaturize this, make it not messy, and not use liquid?”Īrtists have long attempted to bring scents into entertainment. “This is quite an exciting development,” says Jas Brooks, a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago’s Human-Computer Integration Lab who has studied chemical interfaces and smell. At this year's CES, OVR Technology announced that it would release a headset containing a cartridge with eight “primary” aromas designed to mix and match. Yu and Li are not alone in trying to create seamless olfactory experiences in VR. Yu realizes, though, that a scalding hot interface attached to your face might not feel safe enough to use, and he said he and Li were testing ways to make the interface run at lower temperatures or cool down more efficiently.
In a test with 11 volunteers, the interface that goes between nose and mouth was judged safe so long as it was at least 1.5 millimeters from the nose, with a temperature at the skin’s surface of 32.2° C, or 90° F-less than human body temperature.
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