We see through screens and hear through speakers. How about our sense of smell?
I really hope that within the next twenty years, somebody will be able to invent a way to transmit olfactory data through television or the Internet. Imagine the possibilities it could spell for advertising, or shows and websites that have something to do with food. Seeing the food is just porn, but smelling it is foreplay. Seeing someone grill that deliciously marinated steak on the Food Channel looks good, but imagine how you would feel if you could actually smell it.
Perhaps smells can work just like colors that could be blended to form more distinctive types. Scientists could generalize smells into a few fundamental types, just as there are primary and secondary colors: the olfactory equivalent of the color wheel. Engineers could invent a device that utilize cartriges that contain chemicals which produce those fundamental smells, just like printers. Programmers could write a new system or language for smells, just as colors have the RGB or CMYK color spaces, so that they can assign numbers that will tell the device how much of those chemicals should be released by the device in order to replicate the required smell. For example, the smell of frying garlic and butter can be replicated by releasing 345 nanoliters (nL) of solution (sol) #24, 70 nL of sol #6, and 5668 nL of sol #13. These nanodrops would finally be transmitted to the user through something like a small speaker, that could look like a small cup that will fit the nose for efficient transmission.
I think this may have already been attempted before, but I doubt if it ever became successful. What I want is a relatively cheap and accessible device that can be integrated with audio-visual mass media for a three-dimensional sensory experience. However, such a device is potentially dangerous and exploitable. Our sense of smell is a very powerful thing; certain scents or odors can bring back vivid memories of a certain time or place in an instant. For example, the smell of Safeguard's papaya soap immediately reminds me of Incubus' 2004 Manila concert, because that was the soap I used that day, and it lingered on my skin throughout the night. Imagine all the psychological possibilities if such a device were to be invented.
Please take note that I have no professional knowledge of chemistry, engineering or computer science. All of these are mere figments of my imagination. I'm not even sure if these things are possible! I'll just leave it to the smart people to decide.
What do you think?
And yes, I know I am strange. And crazy.
Perhaps smells can work just like colors that could be blended to form more distinctive types. Scientists could generalize smells into a few fundamental types, just as there are primary and secondary colors: the olfactory equivalent of the color wheel. Engineers could invent a device that utilize cartriges that contain chemicals which produce those fundamental smells, just like printers. Programmers could write a new system or language for smells, just as colors have the RGB or CMYK color spaces, so that they can assign numbers that will tell the device how much of those chemicals should be released by the device in order to replicate the required smell. For example, the smell of frying garlic and butter can be replicated by releasing 345 nanoliters (nL) of solution (sol) #24, 70 nL of sol #6, and 5668 nL of sol #13. These nanodrops would finally be transmitted to the user through something like a small speaker, that could look like a small cup that will fit the nose for efficient transmission.
I think this may have already been attempted before, but I doubt if it ever became successful. What I want is a relatively cheap and accessible device that can be integrated with audio-visual mass media for a three-dimensional sensory experience. However, such a device is potentially dangerous and exploitable. Our sense of smell is a very powerful thing; certain scents or odors can bring back vivid memories of a certain time or place in an instant. For example, the smell of Safeguard's papaya soap immediately reminds me of Incubus' 2004 Manila concert, because that was the soap I used that day, and it lingered on my skin throughout the night. Imagine all the psychological possibilities if such a device were to be invented.
Please take note that I have no professional knowledge of chemistry, engineering or computer science. All of these are mere figments of my imagination. I'm not even sure if these things are possible! I'll just leave it to the smart people to decide.
What do you think?
And yes, I know I am strange. And crazy.