Development of a Simple and Low-Cost Olfactory Display for Immersive Media Experiences

Abstract

Olfaction is an important perceptual function that is often neglected in immersive media (IM) and virtual reality (VR) applications. Because the effects of olfaction have not been researched as much as those of visual, auditory, or haptic senses, the effects of olfactory stimuli on IM experiences are mainly unexplored, largely unknown, and debatable in many examples. A major factor limiting olfaction research is the lack of olfactory display options. Commercial solutions are often inadequate and expensive. Prior research on olfactory displays is helpful, but pertinent details are normally missing, and the devices are often too complex to replicate. To address this issue, we have developed a simple, low-cost olfactory display by using inexpensive components and leveraging airflow for vaporization and scent delivery. In this paper, we detail the development of our display and describe an informal study evaluating its effectiveness.

Smell-O-Message

“…Such devices are often expensive [15] and not flexible in being used in different application scenarios (e.g., lack of adjustment for different distances [30,75]). For these reasons, a range of other prototypes, which have demonstrated themselves efficient for applications like gaming [49], VR [10,23], AR [50], simulated driving [76], multisensory cinema [67], and art [38] have been proposed recently.…”

A Tutorial for Olfaction-Based Multisensorial Media Application Design and Evaluation

“…Thus, scent emission devices must vaporise their scents and transfer the scented air generated to the target, the human nose [18], [88]. Vaporisation of scents is achieved using four main techniques.…”

“…This has been hampering research efforts in the area of olfactory displays. Recent research efforts are seeking to address this issue by creating open source scent-controlled devices [88], [90], making the details of both the device and odorants available to other researchers. …”

Mental beliefs about blood, and not its smell, affect presence in a violent computer game

“…The latest developments in immersive technology include haptic and olfactory features (for olfaction see, e.g., Herrera & McMahan, 2014;Nakalzumi, Yanagida, Noma, & Hosaka, 2006). In the past, the successful virtual immersion of these senses suffered much greater challenges than vision or hearing, in terms of its technological feasibility.…”