The Metaverse, In Glorious Smell-O-Vision
“Adherents of scent technology and extended reality are convinced that you can’t have one without the other. ‘There is a huge, very stark difference between experiencing something that has scent and something that doesn’t.’
January 8, 2022
Stephen Gossett
Built In
Ph.D. student Jas Brooks has developed two smell-based hardware prototypes. One generates virtual smells and a second that creates temperature illusions. Both act through the nose, by stimulating the trigeminal nerve. There is increasing research being done that shows smell’s unique relationship to memory, emotion, and spatial navigation.
Some scent technology for VR is developed enough to be tried in the real world for healthcare and training purposes. OVR technology has made a major breakthrough. Robert Stone, a professor of extended reality and human-centered design at the University of Birmingham, used the OVR attachment in his 2020 virtual mayflower project. He said OVR had solved those pesky problems of noisy delivery and lingering smells. Right now OVR devices are being used in two different categories, training modules for dangerous industries and wellness and mindfulness modules expanding on the potential VR had already shown in pain and stress management.
