Facial wearables can help bring olfactory vision into the world of virtual reality

     While we've seen multiple attempts to produce real-world smells in VR environments, many have involved fairly bulky wearables. Scientists from China have developed a more streamlined system, with the device mounted on the skin just below the user's nose. The basic version of the experimental device contains two small devices called odor generators (OG). They are all mounted on a piece of lightweight flexible substrate that temporarily adheres to the skin just above the user's upper lip.

     Each OG contains a different scented paraffin, as well as a thermal actuator. When activated wirelessly by the included VR system, actuators in one or both OG heat the wax and melt it (slightly), releasing its odor. When the actuator is turned off, the wax cools and returns to a solid state, in which it produces almost no odor.

     In a more sophisticated version of the system, a total of nine OG's - each with a different scent - are integrated into a flexible mask. These can be activated in hundreds of different combinations and proportions to produce a wide variety of odors.

     So far, scientists have created about 30 different scents, including rosemary, pineapple, freshly baked pancakes and even durian. In lab tests, 11 volunteers accurately identified the odors produced by the system, with an average success rate of 93 percent.

     "The new olfactory system provides a new alternative option for users to implement olfactory displays in a virtual environment," said Dr. Xinge Yu of the City University of Hong Kong, who led the research together with Dr. Yuhang Li of Beihang University. "The fast response speed to release odors, high odor-generator integration density, and two wearable designs ensure great potential for olfactory interfaces in a variety of applications, from entertainment and education to healthcare and human-machine interfaces."