smell

Japanese scientists create 'Smell-O-Vision' screen

People have never been satisfied with just watching the action on a screen, they want to be immersed in it. What better way than with our powerful sense of smell? Japanese researchers from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have developed a smelling screen that puts the nose into play.

While early versions of "Smell-O-Vision" in movie theaters worked by floating odors into the air, the new screen is a bit more sophisticated. The scents can be located on specific parts of the screen. That means a person onscreen could be waving a piece of bacon around in the upper corner, and the smell would emanate from the same spot.… Read more

Tilt and aim your phone to destroy smell creatures in Smell Shooter

The App Store has tens of thousands of games - some of them incredible and industry-changing and others simply trying to capitalize on the surging interest in the iPhone and iPad devices. Smell Shooter is somewhere in between. It offers some interesting ideas, but the majority of the game is derivative of other better established brands. The actual gameplay is at times frustrating, and at best boring when played for more than a handful of minutes.

The mechanics are simple in theory but fail in execution for a number of reasons. You are supposed to aim the iPhone to move … Read more

The 404 1,229: Where we stop and smell the ads (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Ad creep creeps are getting creepier -- a couple of the strangest ad-placements ever.

- You know Best Buy is doing poorly when a positive customer review is news.

- How manufactured smells are making people shop longer and kill better.

- Jack from our 404 Subreddit created an RSS feed of every 404 episode. Thanks dude!… Read more

New smartphone chip to help owners identify smells, tastes

iPhone users wondering whether their wine or breath have gone bad may soon have help from a chip designed to identify nearby aromas and flavors.

Adamant Technologies has created a processor for iPhones that "can take the sense of smell and taste and digitize them," Adamant founder and CEO Sam Khamis tells Business Insider. Khamis says his company's product is fairly sophisticated, employing roughly 2,000 sensors to identify smells compared with the about 400 sensors in the average human nose.

The San Francisco startup, which is backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, has begun producing chips … Read more

Nanotech device could step in for dogs to sniff out explosives

When it comes to detecting a wide range of extremely faint scents, including the primary vapor that emanates from TNT-based explosives, dogs are the gold standard. But researchers out of the University of California at Santa Barbara, report in the journal Analytical Chemistry that they just may have man's best friend beat -- in the form of a fingerprint-sized silicon microchip.

"Like a person, a dog can have a good day or a bad day, get tired or distracted," Carl Meinhart, a mechanical engineering professor who led the research, said in a school news release. "We … Read more

Japanese gadget turns iPhone into smell-o-phone

We already see, touch, and hear our smartphones. Isn't it time we got a whiff of them, too? Japanese company Chaku Perfume has developed an iPhone app and accessory system that delivers smells.

The gadget part attaches to the dock of the iPhone and contains an atomizer and smell tank. A person on the other end could deliver a particular smell through the other person's device. I'm guessing bacon would be popular.

The Chat Perf is expected to cost just over $60. Let's imagine some uses for this. A bakery could send the smell of cinnamon rolls to entice customers in. Justin Bieber could send the smell of his Someday perfume to his devoted fans. … Read more

MacBook chassis plant stanches stench, reopening soon

A Chinese manufacturing facility that is said to have played a large part in the creation of Apple's MacBook notebooks is expected to reopen in November after being closed earlier this month, a new report says.

Reuters reports that Catcher Technology, which shut down on October 16 after nearby residents complained of "strong odors" from the plant, is set to finish improvements by the end of the month that will aim to fix those issues. The report says that the company plans to have everything back up and running next month, pending inspections from officials.

According to … Read more

Playing on TVs of the future: Smell-O-Vision?

Nowadays, when a friend says her TV stinks, you assume she's talking about picture or sound quality. Some years down the road--assuming certain cross-Pacific R&D pans out--she might mean that literally.

Researchers at the University of California at San Diego are collaborating with Samsung to develop a compact odor-generating component for TVs and cell phones. The as-yet-unnamed device would give television programs and Web sites a palette of 10,000 odors.

Sure, people have been trying to add smell to visual media for a long time (Smell-O-Vision anyone?). The UC San Diego-Samsung collaboration, however, is pushing the technology closer to reality. Miniaturization and digitization are cracking the big challenges of odor-on-demand systems: control and variety.

Odor pixels are the key: a 100x100 matrix of tiny wires will make it easy to heat any one of 10,000 tiny liquid-filled containers.

It'd be cool to catch a whiff of ocean during a beach scene, or take in the heady odor of woodsmoke as a campfire flickers onscreen. But I'm thinking the smells have got to be totally natural. Otherwise, the intense pine forest experience I'm expecting might turn out to be a subliminal cue to break out household cleaning products. Maybe Samsung could offer an eco-organic version. … Read more

The 404 697: Where we have an out-of-office reply (podcast)

Justin is still sick, and Jeff is a runaway bride, so it's just Wilson today. Don't worry because it's not another "cheese stands alone" episode. Natali Del Conte and David Carnoy come in to save the day.

On today's show, we get a first-hand perspective on the new Barnes and Noble Nook Color from CNET Executive Editor David Carnoy. It might be the poor man's iPad, but David thinks it's a worthy competitor to the Amazon Kindle. Natali still prefers her iPad, and Wilson wonders whether consumers will choose the Nook Color or the iPod Touch.

After the break, we get to something sort of scary: Rachael Ray in 3D! That's right. For some people like Wilson, 3D is a mildly nauseating experience, but combined with the queen of faux bubbly's talk show, it might be vomit-inducing. We think the next innovation after 3D is going to be the return of Smell-O-Vision.

Finally, if you want your own copy of David Carnoy's "Knife Music," leave a comment, and we'll randomly choose a winner. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion to how Wilson makes it through another show alone.

Episode 697 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

We love the smell of books in the morning

The smell of books is the last scent we'd think of to bottle, although it makes sense for posterity when books become collectible relics sitting untouchable behind glass in the far future. Then again, this book smell in a spray can is aimed at the Kindle e-book-reading crowd that might require a good whiff of old must for a kinder transition to the Digital Age.

The five Smell of Books aromas cheat a little, though, with Crunchy Bacon and Eau You Have Cats, alongside Classic Musty, New Book Smell, and Scents of Sensibility (whatever that is) for Jane Austen … Read more