How to bring scents to the metaverse
VR enthusiasts turn their attentions to an evocative, but neglected, sense
It was one of those many inventions that never quite took off. In 1960, audiences watching the film “Scent of Mystery” got to experience the wonders of “Smell-O-Vision”. Mounted under the cinema seats, the system pumped out 30 different scents—from salty ocean breezes to whiffs of wine—at crucial moments in the plot. The system had its quirks. Those in the balcony complained that the smells reached them too late. Others found the scents to be too faint, or else irritatingly persistent. More novel than effective, Smell-O-Vision never really took root in Hollywood.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Bringing scents to the metaverse”
From the May 13th 2023 edition
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