I never did see a good demonstration of bringing the olfactory element into video games from Sensory Acumen’s GameSkunk, but there is apparently some researchers at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology who debuted a “smelling screen” at a IEEE Virtual Reality conference in Orlando.
The television is a normal LCD scren with four fans that create some targeted airflow and uses “aroma chips” for specific scents. I have no idea how many scents would have to be involved to create a “scent-ual” experience.
Now, this is where I have to talk about why we even need a scented television. Personally, I like the fact that television is “sight and sound”. If we are going to introduce scents, then what about the other two remaining senses of touch and taste? I don’t think that anything short of virtual reality can replicate those.
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