One can smell in virtual reality situations thanks to an olfactometer. The first is a “wine tasting game” in which the player smells wine in a virtual wine cellar and scores points for accurate fragrance predictions for each wine. Together, Stockholm University and Malmö University have created the novel technology that can be manufactured on 3D printers. Recent publication of the study in the International Journal of Human—Computer Studies was made possible by funding from the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.
According to Stockholm University psychology professor and project leader Jonas Olofsson, “We anticipate that the new technological possibilities will lead to fragrances having a more significant part in game creation.”
Computer games have always centered mostly on what we can see—moving pictures on screens. There haven’t been any additional senses. However, a fragrance machine that can be operated by a gaming computer has recently been built by an interdisciplinary research team from Stockholm University and Malmö University. In the game, the player navigates a virtual wine cellar, picking up virtual wine glasses filled with various wines and speculating on their scents. When the player lifts the glass, the little scent machine, which is connected to the VR system’s controller, releases a scent.
According to Simon Niedenthal, interaction and game researcher at Malmö University, “the ability to move on from a passive to a more active sense of smell in the game environment paves the way for the development of completely new smell-based game mechanics depending on the players’ actions and judgments.”
Four separate valves, each connected to a channel, make up the olfactometer. A fan in the center draws air into a tube as it rotates. The four channels can be opened to varying degrees and supplied with various smell mixes by the player using the computer. fragrance combinations that can simulate the intricacy of a real wine glass. With rising levels of complexity, the game’s difficulty varies.
The fragrance game can test players who already have a sensitive nose in the same way that a typical computer game gets harder as the player improves. Jonas Olofsson says that this means the scent machine, Olfactometer can be used to teach people how to taste wine or make perfume.
The virtual wine tasting game’s source code is also publicly available online, along with all of the machine’s schematics and operating instructions. The Sensory Cognitive Interaction Laboratory, a study team at Stockholm University’s Department of Psychology, is now hopeful that scented computer games can find value in other contexts.
According to study team leader Jonas Olofsson, “For those who, for example, lost their sense of smell during COVID-19 or for other reasons, the new technology can provide an opportunity to restore their sense of smell with the aid of game-based training.”
Doctors sometimes prescribe scent training to patients who lose their sense of smell as a result of colds and other infections, but according to Jonas Olofsson, many individuals stop because it gets dull.
Jonas Olofsson says that he hopes the fact that the drawings and code are “open source” will give game developers a chance to use the new technology to start making new, profitable products for smell training.
Simon Niedenthal asserts that “open source” encourages accessibility, reproducibility, and comparison of research findings. It also helps the game development industry build a strong community of people who do research and design.
However, it also means that the equipment’s prices have dropped significantly, making it more affordable for more individuals. “That is significant to us,” says Simon Niedenthal.
“We support open science, the dissemination of study findings to the public, and the ability of other researchers to replicate our findings. Jonas Olofsson adds that our findings can help other people build scent devices and try out new ways to play games that involve smell.
The technology for the olfactometer was created by Peter Lundén, a research engineer at Stockholm University and a member of the research team at SCI LAB.
