Demonstration of interactive teleolfaction with movie

Abstract

Recently, delivery technologies of visual and auditory information have been established. When movie together with smell information is available, people have more real reality. Our group has studied odor presentation with visual and auditory information using an olfactory display [1]. In VR2007, we have demonstrated the game of cooking with scent using olfactory display. In addition, we have studied smell sensing and reproduction system simultaneously with visual information. However, the function of transmitting sensory information to remote site has not been realized.Recently, we developed the teleolfaction system synchronized with tele-vision system using odor sensor and olfactory display. Moreover, the interactivity is included in this creative showcase. The system consists of recording system and reproduction system as is shown in Fig. 1.In the recording system, an output pattern from an array of QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance) sensors with partially overlapped specificities is recognized using a neural network implemented into a PC. An odor concentration is also measured using one of sensors. Moreover, a web camera simultaneously captures vision of odor sources.In reproduction system located away from the recording system, the olfactory display emits the smell synchronized with movie on the computer screen after the data from the recording system are received via the Internet.A user at remote site can control the position of the sensing nozzle using mobile stage via the Internet. The web camera mounted on that stage captures the image around the sensing nozzle. The user can perceive sensation interactively when he/she controls the position of the mobile stage.An example of the sensor response to orange flavor during the stage movement is shown in Fig. 2. When the sensing nozzle is located just above the odor source, the response has the peak and the user sniffs the strongest smell at the remote site.