Striding Towards “Smellovision”?

On October 13, 2006, BBC News investigates in the online article “Creating a stink in the name of science” (found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6043428.stm) the work of researchers to create synthetic smells.

Professor Takamichi Nakamoto at the Tokyo Institute of Technology has created and developed various machines and devices to recognize and reproduce scents. One “odor recorder” uses a sensor to pick up a given smell and then mixes various chemicals in order to reproduce the smell. For example, a lemon can be placed to the electronic smell receptor and the lemon scent is recorded, analyzed, and a chemical combination is created to try to match the lemon scent that was picked up. Similar to the most basic functions of a rudimentary brain, the machine’s “neural network” is the electronic control system that analyses scent. The device, however, usually doesn’t match the smell right on the first try. It must compare its produced scent with the recorded scent to gradually and slowly make adjustments so a more distinguished smell is ultimately made. The power of the device is limited as there are an infinite number of scents and only so many chemicals that Nakamoto and his team can load into the machine at a time.

Nakamoto’s goal is to be able to one day reproduce all smells. Already, their technology has been used in Japanese virtual games and in some Japanese cinemas, where films such as The New World and Spirited Away has screened certain scenes with correlating scents. Though, “smellovision” for television has been researched in the past, Nakamoto believes that scent is a great benefit today for enhancing learning. He asserts that a person can retain information better when that information is presented to them in conjunction with a smell. Though Nakamoto sees the most probable uses for his work in the fragrance and entertainment industries, it appears he ultimately wants synthetic smell reproduction to improve the way people are educated and perceive worlds that they may not have direct access to.

Initially, many tend to think of the idea of “smellovision” or of scented entertainment as an absurdity with no practical purpose. However, with intense and specified brainstorming and searching, there may be uses for this kind of research. For instance, the odor recorder could be used to improve learning programs and memory enhancement, or for streamlining businesses in the perfume industry. I think that the biggest obstacle will be getting those funding the development of this technology to overlook the obvious, superficial uses that marketers would be tempted to push on consumers, and use Nakamoto’s research for more profound and meaningful purposes.