F111002 臭覚とそのHMI応用([F11100]機素潤滑設計部門企画,ヒューマン・マシン・インターフェイス設計の新たな潮流)

抄録

An olfactory display is a device that generates various odors and delivers them to the user's nose. It has been originally developed as part of a multimodal user interface in a virtual reality system to provide a rich experience to the user. Presenting odors together with visual images and sound is also expected to enhance the reality of various scenes in a movie. An olfactory display can also be used to add special effects to video games and digital signage. In this article, the olfactory display technology is briefly reviewed. Two examples are described in detail: a smelling screen and an olfactory assist mask. The smelling screen generates spatial odor distribution as if an odor is released from a specific position on a computer monitor screen. The olfactory assist mask allows the user to have an enhanced olfactory sensitivity. It detects a faint scent wafting in air by using a gas sensor, and presents an odor vapor with an increased concentration to the user.