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The Kunkun Body sniffer says my armpit stinks

The Japanese gadget did give me a clean bill of smell health on my head, ear and feet.

Aloysius Low Senior Editor
Aloysius Low is a Senior Editor at CNET covering mobile and Asia. Based in Singapore, he loves playing Dota 2 when he can spare the time and is also the owner-minion of two adorable cats.
Aloysius Low
2 min read
kunkunbody-02

Do your feet stink? The Kunkun Body helps you sniff out the truth.

Aloysius Low/CNET

Learning my armpits were slightly stinky wasn't that big a deal, honestly. After all, I'd been walking through the crowded halls of the Anime Festival Asia 2017 in Singapore for the last hour or so.

It helped that my smell wasn't all that bad, according to the Konica Minolta's Kunkun Body system. It's a portable odour detector from Japan that was announced in July. The Kunkun Body was in town for attendees to try out -- it's only been available in Japan so far.

I scored a mere 19 out of 100 in the armpit test, which I'm guessing meant I could get away with some deodorant. Good job I didn't do a 20 minute power workout beforehand. Besides scanning my pits, the Kunkun (which translate to "sniff, sniff") also had a go at my feet, the top of my head and behind my ear. I scored 0 out of 100 on all three tests, which means my feet, head and ears are officially stink-free. 

Watch this: Future Tech: how Technology is changing how we monitor our health.

Using the Kunkun is pretty simple. Select the spot you want sniffed, hold the tool about 1cm (0.4 inches) from the spot, hit the button and wait for the sensor to send the data to an app on your phone. The Kunkun detects three types of smells: sweat, middle age (which smells like "worn out oil") and old age, a fragrance you apparently emit once you're older than 50, according to Konica Minolta.

Retailing at 30,000 Japanese yen (about $270, £200 or AU$350), the Kunkun Body has already raised about $464,000 in crowdfunding in Japan. The country's culture of wearing thick western suits even in the hot summer has made people living there sensitive about offending others with their odors.

As always, please note that CNET's reporting on crowdfunding campaigns is not an endorsement of the project or its creators. Before contributing to any campaign, read the crowdfunding site's policies -- in this case, Makuake -- to find out your rights (and refund policies, or the lack thereof) before and after a campaign ends.

While the Kunkun Body is only available in Japan for now, it may be possible to get your hands on one next year. 

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