
iSmell (2001) - andreygrehov
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISmell
======
AndrewStephens
I remember when this was in the news and had a hard time believing that it
wasn't a joke. Even apart from the terrible branding, the idea has several
flaws that everyone (except the people behind it) immediately saw.

The second most important flaw is that computers can fool the human visual
system into seeing color with only 3 signals, but our noses can distinguish
hundreds of individual chemicals.

But even if that was somehow overcome, what is the use case? The company had
some demo of a person buying perfume online, sampling each one using a
webpage. But if I had a box attached to my computer that could generate the
smell of perfume with any accuracy, why would I ever buy perfume again? Just
get the box to exude the liquid it was using to make the smell in the first
place.

~~~
wyager
> why would I ever buy perfume again

Because it would be cheaper, in greater volume, and easier to apply to your
person than the smells generated by the device.

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thwarted
It took 5 years to name this 'one of the "25 Worst Tech Products of All
Time"', but the idea was already being made fun of 5 years before this product
hit the market.

[http://web.archive.org/web/19961231045934/http://realaroma.c...](http://web.archive.org/web/19961231045934/http://realaroma.com/)

Be sure to check out the <DEVELOPERS' CORNER>

[http://web.archive.org/web/19970416020233/http://realaroma.c...](http://web.archive.org/web/19970416020233/http://realaroma.com/Docs/develop.html)

------
mjsweet
Did anyone buy one if these? If so, would love to hear your thoughts.

~~~
minxomat
Review:
[https://www.wired.com/1999/11/digiscent/](https://www.wired.com/1999/11/digiscent/)
(TL;DR: It actually worked, with a pre-alpha version and 26 distinct smells
during a few minutes of video)

------
bcherny
Also see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell-O-
Vision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell-O-Vision)

------
TeMPOraL
> _was designed to emit a smell when a user visited a web site or opened an
> email._

What a waste. All this potential, and the best application was websites?

I've been thinking about an idea like this over past few years, but in my
view, the applications would be immersive 4D movies - adding a smell dimension
to the experience that already features 3D images, sound, and tactile effects
like blowing wind, water dripping on you, etc. - and immersive video games.

Anyway, thanks for posting. Until today I didn't know anyone was seriously
working on something like that.

------
josefdlange
Silly as this is, I've often thought about digitally recording smells for re-
emission. For the consumer it probably isn't very useful, but having been
knee-deep in the theatre world in my college years, I longed for the
opportunity to contribute "smell design" to productions. Smell is often
described as the sense most strongly tied to emotional response, and so using
it as a tool to evoke emotion in the theater would be really interesting!

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runningskull
Silly as this product is, as a kid I always wished for something like this to
up the immersiveness of video games. Maybe it would be doubly effective now
with VR.

Getting it in a reasonable form factor and some practical issues (stinking up
the house) seem like roadblocks, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something
like this come back around, focused on gaming.

~~~
TeMPOraL
I was always thinking about cinemas - especially since I first saw a "4D
movie", in which they augment the usual 3D movie experience with tactile
effects generators - air blowing at you to simulate wind, small amounts of
water suddenly being sprayed at you, etc. It really added to the immersiveness
of what you were watching, and the only thing lacking was smell effects.

------
jwatte
I remember seeing this at a tradeshow and wanting to buy their $99 developer
kit, but they disappeared from the market before I got around to it :-)

I asked them about the "hundreds of chemicals" and they claimed 10 or 12 were
enough for most scents. (Compare display gamut to full range of visible
light.)

------
landtuna
I tried one of these at COMDEX, and it was kind of underwhelming. All of the
smells were vaguely floral and fruity, but I still smiled and nodded as the
attendant described what I was supposed to be smelling.

