Gadget saves smell for an 'e-sneeze'

Technologies have sprung up to record what humans like to see and hear yet inventors have had less luck developing gadgets that can capture what we like to smell – until now.



Engineers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology this week previewed a new handheld device that when pointed at an object can capture, analyse and reproduce its odour.



Early tests have shown it can successfully identify and 'playback' the smell of orange, apple, melon, banana and lemon, thanks to 15 chemical-sensing microchips or, 'electronic noses' that pick up the fruit's natural odour .



The subsequent 'sneeze effect' of the gadget - when it recreates the smell - could see it used to make online goods such as food or fragrances more tempting to consumers, while it could also help guide the noses of virtual gamers and amateur chefs.



Speaking to The New Statesman about its real-world possibilities, the Institute's engineers said the device could even assist military doctors in their diagnosis, by recreating the smell of bile, blood or urine.



Hinting at its everyday appeal, they explained how simply pointing the gadget at a freshly baked cookie, would pick up, analyse and later reproduce its odour using non-toxic chemicals.



This is achieved by the 'e-noses,' which carefully note the proportions of each odour so that when 'playback' is activated, the chips recreate the smell using 96 manmade chemicals.



However it's no easy task, according to Pambuk Somboon of the Tokyo Institute.



He told the NS: "In video, you just need to record shades of red, green and blue," he reportedly told the science journal. But humans have 347 olfactory sensors, so we need a lot of source chemicals."



Somboon hinted the device will raise eyebrows at a number of firms which have been producing aroma generators to enhance synthetic worlds or TV shows, but have failed commercially due to the limited number of smells existing systems emit.