Smelling in VR environment possible with new gaming technology:
In the past, computer games have focused mostly on what we can see – moving images on screens. Other senses have not been present. But an interdisciplinary research group at Stockholm University and Malmö University has now constructed a scent machine that can be controlled by a gaming computer. In the game, the participant moves in a virtual wine cellar, picking up virtual wine glasses containing different types of wine, guessing the aromas. The small scent machine is attached to the VR system's controller, and when the player lifts the glass, it releases a scent.
"The possibility to move on from a passive to a more active sense of smell in the game world paves the way for the development of completely new smell-based game mechanics based on the players' movements and judgments," says Simon Niedenthal, interaction and game researcher at Malmö University.
The olfactometer consists of four different valves each connected to a channel. In the middle there is a fan sucking the air into a tube. With the help of the computer, the player can control the four channels so that they open to different degrees and provide different mixtures of scent. Scent blends that can mimic the complexity of a real wine glass. The game has different levels of difficulty with increasing levels of complexity.
[...] All code, blueprints and instructions for the machine are openly available online, as is code for the virtual wine tasting game. The research group, Sensory Cognitive Interaction Laboratory, which is located at the Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, now hopes that scented computer games can become useful for other purposes.
"For those who, for example, lost their sense of smell after COVID-19 or for other reasons, the new technology can mean an opportunity to regain their sense of smell with the help of game-based training," says Jonas Olofsson, research team leader. Smell training is a method recommended by doctors for those who lose their sense of smell after colds and other viruses, but according to Jonas Olofsson, many people stop training because it becomes too boring.
A video of the game environment
Journal Reference:
Simon Niedenthal, William Fredborg, Peter Lundén, et al., A graspable olfactory display for virtual reality, Int J Hum-Comput St, 169, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102928
(Score: 4, Interesting) by acid andy on Monday November 14 2022, @07:13PM (7 children)
If you like violent games I'm not sure how enjoyable this would actually be. Do you really want to smell the rotting and/or burning flesh of a zombie, the acrid smoke of an explosion or fire, the mouldy dampness of a dungeon? I mean I see it's useful on the quest to ultimate immersiveness but maybe it's best to emphasize the more pleasurable smells and sensations, at least when the goal is entertainment.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday November 14 2022, @08:15PM
Burnt gun powder isn't necessarily a bad smell, per se. Unlike most rotting things, like eggs, or even vegetation. The bigger problem in my mind is the potential for allergies. While this opens up new gaming possibilities. It also opens up hardware manufacturers to greater potential risk. It certainly hasn't stopped manufacturers from producing other scent based products, though. Like scented candles for example. Still, the giant hunk of hardware stuck to an HTC Vive controller is a long ways from being a practical gaming accessory. Even less practical than an omni-directional vr treadmill. Or at least less useful than a vr treamill anyway.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 5, Funny) by RamiK on Monday November 14 2022, @08:21PM (1 child)
But think of the whole added value it will add to teabagging!
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 15 2022, @10:31AM
You misspelled hole.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Monday November 14 2022, @08:32PM (1 child)
I don't think to many people would enjoy the smell experience of video game carnage -- gun powder, blood, bile and shit combined; add whatever amount of undeath or aliens to that. Sort of like smelling pornos would be what? lube, ass and sadness?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday November 15 2022, @02:25PM
Sadness is not a smell, but for $14.99 / month*** you too could have scents in your VR world!
***Not currently available, but I'm sure someone will figure out how to monetize it appropriately!
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by drussell on Monday November 14 2022, @08:55PM
People will use it for candy crush or bejeweled or whatever those things are called...
Ooooh, I taste strawberry ketone!!
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Monday November 14 2022, @09:18PM
Literally a matter of taste.
I have quit several TV series because they were just non-stop violence, blood, guns, swords, beatings, crunching bones, etc. - I can enjoy the story behind all that, I don't mind some of that here or there, but when 45 minutes of screen time is occupied by 30+ minutes of brutal violence, 10 minutes of character and story development, and 5 minutes of credits... that's past the tipping point for me. I'd rather watch bad SciFi with 20 minutes wasted on scenery, environments and quirky character makeup, 15 minutes of character and story, 5 minutes of contrived action chase scene and 5 minutes of credits...
I imagine some people would get off on the bad smells - others wouldn't. Frankly, I'm not sure I'd care for any kind of smell-o-vision, certainly not one that would linger in the living room or bleed out to the rest of the house.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by UncleBen on Monday November 14 2022, @07:15PM (1 child)
Smell-o-vision anyone? I had friends (projectionists) who ran theaters with these systems, they were a pain. Mainly, the synchronized smell-wheel would stall and the resulting smoke from overheating would elicit entirely the wrong response from the audience. I recall a couple of shows being cleared due to a wheel-stick.
Of course, Waters, Divine, and Co had their scratch-and-sniff version. That was a little tamer.
When are we simply going to wear nose plugs with ultrasonic transducers that simply "fire" the "right" smell-detectors? (Joke, I know this is vastly harder than even tricking eyes with virtual light.)
(Score: 3, Funny) by Snotnose on Monday November 14 2022, @09:01PM
this. Was it John Water's Pink Flamingos that gave out smell-o-vision cards? 2 things I remember about that movie:
1) it was way weird
2) taking my card (and the extra one I conned the guy into giving me) into work and telling co-workers "Hey, scratch this and tell me what it smells like"
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 14 2022, @07:23PM (2 children)
Compared to actual wine, four different aromas barely counts as a baby step. See https://napavalleywineacademy.com/sensory-science-wine-aromas-explained/ [napavalleywineacademy.com] for example:
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday November 14 2022, @07:50PM (1 child)
Thank you. Given four aromatics to work with, there's no way you can duplicate the smells of the world. A lot of things are less complex than wines, but, how do you capture a flower garden with four different scents? Or, the smell of decay? Which chemicals will be used to simulate a hospital environment? Or, an industrial setting?
These people have a parlor trick that works alright under strictly controlled conditions. When they increase the number of aromatics by two orders of magnitude, they might be ready for some less strictly controlled conditions, but they still won't be ready to convince a wine connoisseur. Unless the connoisseur considers Mad Dog 20-20 to be high class wine.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by kazzie on Tuesday November 15 2022, @06:22AM
I wouldn't expect this system to be anywhere near wine-tasting experiences, but could be useful for signposting a transition from one place to another, or an olfactory indication that something has just happened, even if you didn't see/hear it. Sensory input on an additional sense could help with immersion and suspension of disbelief.
The tools are (clearly) limited, but a good storyteller/engineer should be able to use them in a creative way. Think of the various hare-brained advances seen in the early days of cinema, for example.
(Score: 2) by drussell on Monday November 14 2022, @07:49PM (1 child)
Wasn't there some sort of VR system with some sort of stinky substance dispenser in it about 10 years ago or so?
I recall it being some specific thing for some certain specific use or game or somesuch, but this was quite some time ago and since it doesn't really interest me at all in any way, I honestly can't recall the details but it seems very familiar somehow...
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday November 14 2022, @09:21PM
I feel like I was in some Disney attraction back in the 1990s where the alien ran around the room and breathed hot damp smelly air over your shoulder...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Funny) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday November 14 2022, @08:04PM (3 children)
Since nobody has legs in the Metaverse, at least that's one environment that will be free of foot odor.
And that is truly the only good thing to say about the Metaverse.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday November 14 2022, @09:24PM
>And that is truly the only good thing to say about the Metaverse.
I suppose it wouldn't be polite to mention that it's nice that the kind of people who enjoy spending their time in the Metaverse are spending more of their time there, and less of their time elsewhere...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Monday November 14 2022, @09:35PM
I don't think it's going to be of any use in that Metastasis. Even without that it's obvious that it reeks.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday November 15 2022, @06:23AM
I don't think the lack of feet will stop Zuckerberg from putting his foot in it again sometime...
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday November 14 2022, @08:10PM (5 children)
It sounds like the developers forgot that a game must be fun to play first and foremost. It doesn't matter how innovative or technologically impressive a game is, if it's shit, nobody will play it. And from the description, this particular game sounds particularly unfun, and nothing more than an excuse to make use of the smell box.
Now though, add smells to Leisure Suit larry or Doom and I might be interested.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday November 14 2022, @08:27PM
I'm pretty sure you've got a whole lot of nostalgia for those games in particular, if you're pointing to them as examples of "good games". The Leisure Suit Larry games were more famous for the lecherous nature than anything. With Doom being one of the first games of the genre as opposed to it be being a particularly good game. Not saying anything about how good/bad they were for their time. The last time I tried firing up Duke Nukem 3D, for example. The mechanics, graphics, and even sound is subpar by today's standards. You certainly weren't playing Duke Nukem 3D/Doom for their awesome story. Leisure Suit Larry had a story, but was essentially just an Adult adventure game. Personally, I enjoyed Hugo's House of Horrors and King's Quest series as far as the Adventure play style goes.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Funny) by Tork on Monday November 14 2022, @09:20PM (2 children)
Um. Wasn't that a game about helping a man in his forties score for the first time? Don't we already have those smells going in our 'game rooms'??
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by looorg on Monday November 14 2022, @09:56PM (1 child)
Pretty much. Or as I recall it he was looking for Love (at least in part II). If your "game room" smells like the upstairs backroom at Lefty's (sans Hooker and used condoms) then perhaps you should open a window or buy a Wunderbaum or two.
http://www.classicgaming.cc/pc/leisure-suit-larry/girls [classicgaming.cc]
(Score: 2) by Tork on Monday November 14 2022, @10:10PM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 4, Funny) by JoeMerchant on Monday November 14 2022, @10:06PM
I could see smell enhancing the Zork I experience: you get to sniff each tunnel before deciding which way to go...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Touché) by dwilson98052 on Monday November 14 2022, @11:23PM
...is about to get a lot weirder.
(Score: 2, Funny) by stretch611 on Tuesday November 15 2022, @06:00AM (2 children)
I wouldn't want to smell Vladimir Poot'in
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2, Informative) by stretch611 on Tuesday November 15 2022, @08:54AM (1 child)
I really hate to discuss moderation... BUT,
You may not like the humor and the wordplay, but farting should not be offtopic in a discussion of smelling things.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Poot [urbandictionary.com]
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Wednesday November 16 2022, @06:59AM