Picture smelling fresh coffee through a video call, or catching a whiff of perfume before you buy it online.
Scientists are moving that idea closer to reality with Scentronic, an AI-powered system that detects smells, sends the scent data over the internet, and recreates the aroma somewhere else.
Researchers from Ohio State University and Zhejiang Laboratory in China developed it, and their work appeared in Science Advances. It explores how digital scent transmission could add a new dimension to online communication. Your next shopping session may come with a sniff test.
How does sending smells over the internet work?
Scentronic works like a digital nose paired with a tiny perfume dispenser. The electronic nose has six gas sensors that pick up the chemical compounds linked to a smell.
AI then identifies the aroma and sends the data to a receiving device. That device recreates the smell using scented liquids and miniature vibrating atomizers, which release tiny droplets into the air.
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The prototype supports five aromas: coffee, beer, red wine, cake, and orange. In tests with 14 volunteers, participants correctly identified the recreated smells about 73% of the time. That is an encouraging start, but the technology has a long way to go before it can fool every nose in the room.
It also does not send actual odor molecules across the internet. The system identifies a scent and recreates an approximation using ingredients already loaded into the receiving device.
Virtual world could soon detect a smell
The researchers see uses in online shopping, digital communication, and virtual reality. You could walk through a virtual bakery and smell fresh cake, or test a fragrance from home before you spend money on a bottle.
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The team also built a prototype cup that pairs scent with flavored liquids. You pick a virtual drink through a mixed-reality headset, and the cup gives you its matching taste and aroma.
There is a catch. Scentronic cannot reproduce every smell on demand. It can only recreate the aromas that its loaded ingredients allow.
Still, the research suggests digital experiences could one day reach beyond your eyes and ears.
For decades, we have worked to make the internet look and sound better. Now scientists want it to smell better too. Let’s hope nobody works out how to transmit the smell of a sweaty gaming room.
