Will Your Next Message Contain Common Scents?

You’re sending your loved one a text message with a picture of a bouquet of flowers. Or, you’re e-mailing your best friend a snapshot of your new beachfront property. Let them in on the whole experience as they catch a whiff of your message, with new technology that can capture and deliver smells electronically. The Japanese made ‘Smellovision Project’ has been introduced as the world’s first gadget that can deliver over 95 different scents, smells, and experiences. Think of a miniature scent lab infused with the essential elements of all things that we’re familiar with. The waft of baked cinnamon rolls, the salty and crisp waves of a seashore, or the fresh zip of oranges can be captured, digitized, and sent across the world.

The smellovision project was developed by NTT Communications Corporation, in an effort to synchronize a complete media and sensory experience for its users. With trial runs in movies theaters, perfume companies, and even cell phones, the final results may lead to a user’s ability to transmit not only sound, text, and video, but deliver a customized smell along with their digital formulation.

Odor replicators have come and gone in the past, primarily offered by perfume companies and fragrance centers to provide a ‘scent-ual’ experience. The smellovision project is different in that over 96 chemicals and vapor are mixed together in various combinations; the technological device actually goes through a process to analyze a specific scent, then goes about creating a recipe for it in a digital output form.

Depending on the interface, we might see this for consumer use in a variety of areas. Online shopping for food, flowers, or perfume will be one step towards the in-store experience. Movie downloads with customized scents relating to the environment will provide even more verve to the current computer animations and effects. Cell phones that can transmit aromas alongside the message will be the ‘new cool,’ and possibly encourage an entirely new dimension in the sharing experience, offering a snippets creativity. At this time, the actual device is too large for the consumer market, standing at a hefty 3 x 2 feet. It is currently being pitched to the fragrance and perfume industry, in various trials to create high-quality impressions of natural aromas.

Are you ready to duplicate your favorite scent to memory? It’s a known fact that our sense of smell guides and aids us with memory retrieval, our likes, dislikes, and learning associations. The effects of imitating smells, even synchronized to a movie scene, is just one step towards an ultimate sensory experience in a variety of industries. We’ll soon be exchanging more than two-dimensional experiences as scent technology spurs ahead.