Nov 02, 2010
— read in fullSmelling the future
Ever wanted to smell a cookery programme? Well soon you might be able to do just that, thanks to the work of a cutting-edge engineer in Japan.
Professor Takamichi, a Japanese engineer, is working on a gadget that can detect and record smells and then reproduce them using a combination of chemicals.
So, you show the recorder a piece of fruit, like an apple, and after analysing it the machine will bring up a recipe for recreating the smell with a chemical cocktail.
Some of the uses for the new technology could be to replace people with ‘professional noses’ in the perfume industry with machines. Another idea is to use it in retail, so people could smell their food before they buy it. The most exciting plan though, is for ‘smellovision’.
The team in Tokeo have managed to create a computer game where users cook a recipe and get to smell the ingredients and final product at the end.
They have also tested the idea on audiences in a special showing of the hit Japanese cartoon ‘Spirited Away’. The viewers claimed to enjoy and remember the scenes with smells better than the normal film.
As well as being fun, the hope is that combining smells with audio and visual materials will help people to memorise and learn.
Your shout!
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