Encore: Vermont tech company wants to include smells in virtual reality | NPR
“A Vermont technology company has developed a way to incorporate smell into virtual reality. This modern day "Smell-O-Vision" could have far-reaching applications in gaming, health and wellness.”
March 24, 2022
Mikaela LeFrak
NPR
“Mikaela Lefrak from Vermont Public Radio reports, some tech entrepreneurs are trying to make the Metaverse feel even more real by incorporating the sense of smell.
At the headquarters of OVR Technology in Burlington, Vt., smell is king. Co-Founder and CEO Aaron Wisniewski is a perfume-maker turned tech entrepreneur. He shows me his company's invention. It's a bit like a modern day Smell-O-Vision, Hollywood's attempt from the '50s and '60s to incorporate scent into movies.
Judith Amores is a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, focused on scent and virtual reality. She explains, our sense of smell helps us feel fully present in a place and create memories.
Reproducing real-world odors in a lab is a challenge. Amores says people are surprisingly good at sniffing out and dismissing artificial scents. Wisniewski and his team think that someday scent is going to be just as integral to VR headsets as audio technology is to a smartphone. That's because he believes to really experience the Metaverse, you don't just see it or hear it. You have to smell it, too.”
