• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

TechEngage®

Connecting mankind with technology

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cryptocurrency
  • How-to
  • Roundups
  • Science
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Space
  • Apps
  • More
    • Opinion
    • Noteworthy
    • Culture
    • Events
    • Deals
    • Startups
      • Startup Submissions
  • Videos
  • Tools
TechEngage » News » World of Tech

Researchers Want to Send Virtual Smells Over the Internet

Muhammad Abdullah Follow Muhammad Abdullah on Twitter Updated: October 1, 2020

virtual smell simulations
via: Imagineering Institute
Shares56FacebookTweetPinLinkedInPrintEmail

Back in 2013, Google played an April fool prank on everyone and announced a Beta version of their “flagship” Nose program. Google Nose’s mobile aroma indexing program claimed to have a fifteen million database of smells from around the world. That was hilarious for sure, but many people were intrigued by the idea of sharing an aroma over the internet.

Well, it seems like these researchers took it seriously and are actually working on it. That’s a joke on Google. In the future, your friends might surprise your sinuses with stinky smells by just sharing it on social media.

Okay, let’s be serious and talk about it for a minute. New research at Imagineering Institute in Malaysia designed a concept for smelling content digitally like restaurant items and a rose bouquet using electrical simulation directly up your nostrils. A senior research fellow Kasun Karunanayaka at the Imagineering institute is leading the quest to create a “multisensory internet.” The team experimented with different patterns of nasal stimulation and by changing the frequency of the current various times; they managed to produce the required results. The result they got was an intense smell sensation.

How does it work?

With electrodes, the researchers made people smell things that weren’t physically there. The device can send an electric charge to your brain through the nose and trigger a sensation of smell. Karunanayaka told IEEE, Kasun said that according to their initial proof-of-concept experiments, subjects are describing the odors as fragrant or chemical as perceived. Some people are describing smells that they encountered as “sweet,” “fruity,” “woody” and “toasted minty.”

The concept of sending aroma over the internet is not new. It has been practiced in the past with the help of some respective devices that were triggered by specific commands to produce an odor. Kasun and his team replaced the need of these chemical devices. The team stuck a thin cable up the noses of 31 people who volunteered for this experiment. The cable had silver electrodes and a tiny camera with which they were able to reach the sinus of the subject. Usually, humans sense smell when sensitive skin cells are stimulated by chemical compounds triggering a signal to the brain through the olfactory nerve. These cells of the inner nose lie a few centimeters above and behind the nostrils. The team of researchers obliterated these cells directly with an electric current.

This experiment is as challenging as it seems.

Karunanayaka said, “A lot of people wanted to participate, but after one trial they left because they couldn’t bear it.”

The team is also collaborating with a Japanese startup, Scentee, and is working on the world’s first smartphone gadget that can produce a sensation of smell.

Someday, we will be able to send smells of different things like tacos or hamburgers over the internet. We can expect to wake up with an alarm that can stimulate the aroma of coffee in your smartphone. Smells, great!

If you are wondering about “Google Nose,” here’s the April fool video.

This post was originally published on October 21, 2018 and was updated on October 1, 2020.

Filed Under: World of Tech Tagged With: Virtual smell

Related Stories

  • Qualcomm just won a battle in the legal war against Apple

    Qualcomm just won a battle in the legal war against Apple

  • Amazon’s Alexa powered devices finally revealed!

    Amazon’s Alexa powered devices finally revealed!

  • The Guild is launching tech-savvy hotels

    The Guild is launching tech-savvy hotels

Shares56FacebookTweetPinLinkedInPrintEmail

About Muhammad Abdullah

Abdullah is a computer scientist turned tech writer and certified Growth Hacker.

Reader Interactions

Share Your Thoughts Cancel reply

Please read our comment policy before submitting your comment. Your email address will not be used or published anywhere. You will only receive comment notifications if you opt to subscribe below.

Primary Sidebar

Become a contributor

We are accepting contributor applications. All applications will be decided in 3 days after applying. To learn more visit the contributors page.
TextSheet Alternative

6 Top Alternatives to Textsheet for 2025

Muhammad Zeshan Sarwar October 5, 2024

battery draining apps

Top 10 battery draining apps to avoid 2025

Muhammad Abdullah October 5, 2024

Recent Stories

  • 6 Top Alternatives to Textsheet for 2025
  • Top 10 battery draining apps to avoid 2025
  • The Benefits of Having a Small Air Compressor for Flat Tires
  • 4 Best Free VPNs for 2025
  • 9 Best Calendar Apps in 2025

Footer

Discover

  • About us
  • Newsroom
  • Staff
  • Advertise
  • Send us a tip
  • Startup Submission Questionnaire
  • Brand Kit
  • Contact us

Legal pages

  • Reviews Guarantee
  • Community Guidelines
  • Corrections Policy and Practice
  • Cookies Policy
  • Our Ethics
  • Disclaimer
  • GDPR Compliance
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Must reads

  • Best AirPods alternatives on Amazon
  • Best PC monitors for gaming on Amazon
  • Best family board games
  • Best video doorbells without subscription
  • Best handheld video game consoles
  • Best all-season tires for snow
  • Best mobile Wi-Fi hotspots
  • Best treadmills on Amazon

Download our apps

TechEngage app coming soon on App Store

© 2024 TechEngage®. All Rights Reserved. TechEngage® is a project of TechAbout LLC.

TechEngage® is a registered trademark in the United States under Trademark Number 6823709 and in the United Kingdom under Trademark Number UK00003417167. It is also ISSN protected under ISSN 2690-3776 and has OCLC Number 1139335774.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy