The collaboration between Stockholm University (Sweden) and Malmo University led to the development of a new technology that allows you to smell in virtual reality (VR). The new machine, known as an olfactometer (or olfactometer), can be printed using 3D printers.
This research was supported by the Marianna and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation and published in the International Journal of Human Computer Studies.
Jonas Olofsson, a professor of psychology at Stockholm University, is the leader of the research project.
Olofsson states that he hopes the new technical possibilities will allow scents to play a greater role in game development.
How to Make a Scent Machine
Computer games have always focused on what we see on screens and not on any other senses. This is changing. A scent machine was developed by an inter-disciplinary research team. It can be controlled remotely using a gaming computer. The game allows the participant to move in a virtual wine cellar and pick up virtual wine glasses containing different types of wine. This is done while the participant guesses the aromas.
The controller of the VR system has a scent machine attached. The scent is released when the player lifts the glass.
Simon Niedenthal, an interaction and game researcher at Malmo University is Simon Niedenthal.
Niedenthal states that the possibility of moving from a passive sense of smell to an active sense of scent in the game world opens up the door to the development of entirely new smell-based games mechanics based upon the players’ actions and judgments.