Ask HN: How would you transmit smell over the web?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21775372

by __ka • 7 years ago

4 4 7 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Please elaborate on the technical details of your solution and limitations to your approach (e.g. device size).

rgovostes• 7 years ago

https://www.wired.com/1999/11/digiscent/ (Note the date.)

__ka• 7 years ago

Very interesting.

The iSmell failed to get the interest of the public. When looking at what went wrong for the iSmell, it is revealed that the missing link was a market survey. According to Startupover’s Andrea Dusi, the iSmell “was definitely a nice idea, but not a useful one”. DigiScents has shut down due to a lack of funding, although it still “continues to license its technology and is looking for funding for a relaunch. [1]

I wonder if with virtual reality, something like this will pick up.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISmell

LinuxBender• 7 years ago

I don't have a design, but I chime in on everything. I would suggest that your device should be compatible with existing VR headset gear and not too bulky. Maybe partner with Valve for the network access to allow gamers and game developers to integrate with it easily. There must be an open standard that some of this gear uses.

lioeters• 7 years ago

Purely speculating with no technical background..

On the sender side, there would need to be a "smell microphone" to inhale and encode smells based on chemical properties. The data can be transmitted over HTTP or another transfer protocol.

On the receiver side, there would be a "smell speaker" (and maybe amplifier) that decodes and exhales the smell.

I can imagine various technical challenges on both ends, specifically chemical analysis and synthesis on a small enough scale to be practical.

EDIT: This page has a history of such attempts, most recently Aromajoin with "the first wearable scent device" in 2016.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_scent_technology

Ask HN: How would you transmit smell over the web?

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