VR Can Smell Now

A new report published by scientists at Beihang University and the City University of Hong Kong in Nature Communications details a new device that allows people to smell things as they interact with them in virtual reality systems.

The concept is described as “skin-interfaced olfactory feedback systems” that use wireless technology to generate smells for VR systems, according to the report in the peer-reviewed scientific journal. 

There are two prototypes for the technology: one that is mounted beneath the nose and another is a face mask. Both act by warming paraffin wax mixed with liquid perfumes to generate different smells.

The scientists tested the smells on 11 volunteers to “verify the effects of odors on human emotion,” the report said. A total of 30 different odors were used, and the report said the result “demonstrates that the possibility of being joyful” with 56% of study participants feeling joyful when they smelled grape, 65% when they smelled orange and 44% when they smelled strawberry.

The technology would allow people using VR headsets to, for instance, pick up a virtual flower and smell a floral odor by wearing the device.