There are often times when many wish they could smell through a TV screen – whether you’re watching Bake Off or playing an immersive virtual reality (VR) game.
Well now you can, as scientists have created a futuristic headset that takes you into a world of simulated smells.
Pancakes, mojitos and even plants are among 30 different odours that can now be smelled through technology, thanks to engineers at China’s Beihang University and the City University of Hong Kong.
The ground-breaking research could pave the way for an exciting array of new video games, 4D films and even virtual teaching environments, authors believe.
Hospitals could make use of VR too, as scientists suggest it could prove useful to help amnesic patients recall lost memories.
A small virtual reality headset can simulate 30 smells including pancakes, mojitos and plants
Authors wrote: ‘Recent advances in virtual reality (VR) technologies accelerate the creation of a flawless 3D virtual world to provide frontier social platform for human.
‘Equally important to traditional visual, auditory and tactile sensations, olfaction exerts both physiological and psychological influences on humans.
‘Representative demonstrations in 4D movie watching, smell message delivery, medical treatment, human emotion control and VR/AR based online teaching prove the great potential of the soft olfaction interface in various practical applications, including entertainment, education, human machine interfaces and so on.’
The new technology comes after numerous other VR projects that bring the concept of ‘Smell-O-Vision’ to the 21st century.
Porn website CamSoda previously devised a headset resembling a gas mask that can pump a range of sexual odours into a user’s nostrils.
This included ‘private parts’, ‘body odour’, ‘panties’ and ‘aphrodisiacs’ for the user’s pleasure.
Meanwhile, researchers in Sweden created a gaming controller attachment that can also emit aromas during virtual wine-themed experiences.
Yet the new technology claims to be different, with a light-weight feel that requires no wires or attachments.
The new VR also does not require perfume to produce simulated smells, which has been a major feature of some headsets.
Researchers across both universities explored the possibility of two wireless scent-producing VR sets and tested these on 11 volunteers.
The first model can be placed under a person’s nose, with the ability to produce two different odours.
The other can yield nine different odours, but instead fits on to the face like a mask.
Despite their differences, both contain tiny odour generators made up of paraffin wax that can release specific odours in as little as 1.44 seconds when heated.
Pictured: Scientists developed two models of the VR headset. The first smaller model could be mounded on to the skin under the nose and had the ability to produce two different odours (pictured top right). The other model could yield nine different odours but instead fitted on to faces like a mask (see the nine different squares on the larger model)
The two wireless scent-producing VR sets were tested on a total of 11 volunteers. Pictured left is what the player sees on the VR headset, while top right is the experimental set-up
Hospitals could make use of VR too, as scientists say it could prove useful to helping amnesic patients recall lost memories
Authors suggest these scents can be altered, having tested 30 different odour types including pineapple, green tea and rosemary.
More vague scents such as ‘walking outside’, ‘happiness’ and ‘having a lunch’ were tested too, but those with the lowest boiling points were most effective.
By mixing some perfumes and wax to a temperature of 140°F (60°C), nine different odours were obtained that still work after being exposed to air for three weeks.
Meanwhile, 30mg of ‘mojito’ – which also has a boiling point below 392°F (200°C) – could continuously release odour for 90 minutes.
Scientists explained: ‘It is concluded that our olfaction system could adopt low-volatile odour types as odourous additive into wax for providing olfaction display to users.’
Developments in VR come after the mesmerising concept of Smell-O-Vision created in 1960 for Hans Laube’s film ‘Scent of Mystery’.
The system was fitted to cinema seats and released 30 smells at different points during the film, triggered by the film’s soundtrack.
At the time, smells included pipe tobacco, gunpowder, gasoline, flowers, wood shavings and foods including peaches, wine and coffee.
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