NAME: HIMMAT SINGH KANWARROLL NO.:20070314TITLE: i-SMELL TECHNOLOGYAREA:DIGITAL COMMUNICATION

ABSTRACT

The technology has so far targeted mainly our sence of sight and sound. To

further enhance the virtual reality experience and another flavour to it,

technology is now targeting your nose and tongue.

The application area of virtual reality is vast- from normal entertainment to the

Internet and e-commerce application. You will be able to smell product before

buying them online.

California-based Digiscents Inc. has developed the iSmell personal scent

synthesizer. This small device connects through your pc via serial port and has its

own driver.

REFERENCE: WWW.EDUFIVE.COM WWW.SEMINARSONLY.COM

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

All have been attempting to master the latest technological advancement of the

elusive and rapidly changing computer industry, something with a different twist

has been fermenting in the corners of virtual reality. Have u noticed anything

missing at your latest catch-up-with-technology in service course? Listening to

the music, sending mails,searching journals on-line appears to have become

common practice.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to smell

the flowers that you order online before purchasing them? Or be able to “taste-

smell” a variety of perfumes while surfing the web?

Being able to mechanically recreate one of the five sences, namely

smell, has been in the works for quite some time now. A company called

DigiScents believes they have the goods to revolutonize the way we think of

smell. They have recently teamed up with Quest International

One of the world”s leading fragrance,flavour and food ingredients manufacturers

with particular strengths in sensory design and consumer understanding.Together,

they envision a vast array of new opportunities; mostly in the way they plan on

making this new technology profitable.

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iSmell is 3”x 2”x 5” little box-like device made by DigiScents

promises to deliver the critical and much enticipated dimension of aroma to one’s

latest computer encounter.Bellenson first introduced the device as aprototype add

on to an IBM ThinkPad which will ultimately be capable of emitting 12050

different combinations of odour.

Addign fragrances to film-clips is not an entirely new idea. Back in

the 50’s, the American public was introduced to such memorable highlights as

Aroma-Rama andSmell -o-vision . A variety of scents fille theaters and

accompanied several different motion pictures including,Behind the Great Wall.

Bellenson and Smith stumbled upon the idea of designing an odour sunthesizer

after exploring avenues for improving the smell of food. They stated that “Taste is

95% aroma; your tongue can only detect sweet, sour, bitter,and salty. All other

tastes are a function of the nose.

Coding of aromas would be downloaded to computer similar to

graphics images ae audible sounds. Ultimately users will be able to creae and

modify their own fragrances and post them on the internet!(2000). Also discussed

the potential for creating smell capture cameras, which could add fragrances

coding to images and sounds.

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CHAPTER 2

HISTORY

2.1 FOCUS

Digiscents or the digital scent revolution.

2.2 CONCEPT

Digiscents is an American company specialized in the “perfumed

web”. There digital fragrances software makes it possible for beauty websites,for

instence. To let their visitors smell their perfumes and beauty products.Digiscents

introduced the iSmell synthesizer in October 2000. The size of a small

loudspeaker, the machine is linked to a computer and recognizes hidden

instructions from a web-page or a games console to reconstruct a smell from its

scent-based of 128 essential oils,and transmit it.

The founders,Joel Lloyd Bellenson (MD) and Dexter Smith

(Chairman) started from the following idea: “If we can find the essence of a

biological smell and build a profile, we can digitalize and broadcast it.” (From an

interview with Reuters). The two had earlier founded Double Twist, a world

leader in biotechnology.

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CHAPTER 3

iSMELL TECHNOLOGY

3.1 WHAT IS iSMELL ?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to smell the flowers that

you order online before purchasing them? Or be able to “taste-smell” a variety of

perfumes while surfing the web?

DigiScents,Inc, introduced its iSmell system in November 2000,

which scent-enables web sites, e-mails,interactive games,on-line advertising,and

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many more. The iSmell is a personal synthesizer that emits a broad range of

fragrances.

ISmell Digital Scent Technology is a complete solution for the

digitization,broadcast and synthesis of smells to accompany all forms of media!

ISmell is a plug-in computer accessory that contains a basic palette of scented oils

from which a bouquet of different smells can be created.

Just as we can download digitized music and play it through

speakers attached to a computer,we should soon be able to acquire online scent

data that a little gadget can play back as smells. Ismell device can be linked via

serial cable,sits a black plastic box 3 inches tall,2 inches wide and 5 inches

deep,about the size of an electric pencil sharpener. Sometimes inside it a little fan

is attached that starts whirring,drawing in air at the back and blowing it over tiny

cials of oils that are being heated selectively in response to signals from the

computer. The air picks up the oily fragrances and wafts it out through a 2 inch

vent.Digiscent has proposed four models of iSmell device among them one is

slightly smaller than telephone and others are of fin-shaped.

Now, when shopping online,you may soon simply click on a

perfume and smell it through your computer! Or you may be able to send an email

to your friend woth the smell of roses or chocolate! Or, how would you like to

play video games and smell the environment you are playing in or watch a movie

that gives you the scent of an autumn bonfire!

So,what will iSmell technology achieve? It will make advertising

more engaging and memorable.

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3.2 How Does it Work?

The iSmell device was incorporated in February 2000 by DigiScents founders,

Joel Lloyd Bellenson and Dexster Smilth. DigiScents developed the iSmell scent

"player" and scent cartridge. The cartridge, modeled after a print cartridge, is

made up of scent creating materials similar to those used in the food and cosmetic

industry. The iSmell device, which is pictured above, attaches to your computer

and "plays" small amounts of scent.

Here's how the overall program works:

* DigiScents indexes thousands of smells based on their chemical structure and

their place on the scent spectrum

* Each scent is then coded and digitized into a small file.

* The digital file is embedded in Web content or email.

* A user requests or triggers the file by clicking a mouse or opening an email.

* A small amount of the aroma is emitted by the device in the direct vicinity of

the user.

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The iSmell cartridge contains 128 primary odors. When these 128 odors are

mixed, thousands of other scents are created. The iSmell device can be turned off

at any time and users can block any unwork.

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CHAPTER 4

BROADCASTING OF SMELL

4.1 DigitizedScent.

A scene is indexed along two parameters, its chemical makeup and its place in the

scent”spectrum”,and then digitized into a small file.

4.2 Broadcast.

The digital file is scent, attached to enhanced web content.

4.3 Synthesize.

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DigiScent’s iSmell, which connects to the user’s computer like a set of speakers,

synthesis the smell from a palette of “primary odours”, following the guidelines

of the digital file.

iSmell technology turns smell into digital codes that can be stored on

laser discs or as computer files, and it can even be emailed. It reads the digital

scent file, creates a smell from a ”palette” of 128 chemicals stored in a catridge,

which wafts into the air with a small fan.

4.4 The complete product:

DigiScents is developing a complete solution for scent-enabling the Internet and

all forms of digital media, including:

iSmell Personal Scent Synthesizer: A computer peripheral device

which recreates Scent Objects by mixing and releasing one or more of 128 scents.

The device includes replaceable cartridges similar to those used in color printers.

4.4.1 ScentPalette Cartridges:

Consider cartridges contained inside the iSmell device. The

cartridges are filled with over one hundred different fragrant materials that are

emitted alone or incombination. In addition to the general purpose of Scent

Palette there is a possibility of creating industry Specific cartridges for every thing

from fragrances and food to games and movies.

CHAPTER 5

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WHAT IS “ScentWare” AND HOW DOES IT ORK?

“Sentware” is a combination of SoftWare and Hardware.

There are two types of software. One allows you to “Design” your own custom

fragrances, and the other allows you to receive the codes for a custom scent and

have them activate a spray device so you can smell it.

The design software is often as simple as a web page with pictures

of familiar scents (apple pie, popcorn, fresh rain, flowers ) that you can “drag”

with your mouse into a virtual beaker and mix. The combinations you choose can

be saved as a custom fragrance, which gets stored as “codes” to be passed to a

spray device.

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The spray device is a piece of hardware that can be plugged into one

of the serial ports of your computer, the way a printer plugs in. This device has a

disposable carteidge with a number of chambers inside, each containing a

chemical compound that can be mixed with others to match the custom scent

you’ve created.

5.1 iSMELL A SNORTAL ON THE WEB

Smith said the pair got the idea of wiring the Internet for smell

during a vacation in Miami's vibrant South Beach.

``We were overwhelmed by the perfumes that people were wearing,

all the sensory input,'' Smith said. ``We thought: This is a biological

phenomenon, this is in our domain. We should be able to understand this and

build a company out of it.''

They quickly got building and soon the Oakland, California-based

DigiScents had the concept down.

First, there is the ``iSmell,'' a plug-in computer accessory that will

contain a basic palette of scented oils from which a bouquet of

different smells can be created.

Functioning like the MP3 players that download music from the

Internet, the iSmell will take its orders from DigiScent's

''ScentStream'' software, which will translate online digital cues for

different smells into specific orders for the portable perfume factory.

To ensure odor authenticity, DigiScent has created a ``Scent

Registry,'' a digital index of thousands of scents that the company will license to

developers to integrate into games, Web sites, advertisements, movies and music.

To round it out, the company plans to create a ``Snortal'' on the Web to give

people a chance to sniff for themselves.

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There is real science behind all this. Bellenson, who once ran a

Stanford University lab specializing in DNA synthesis, has drawn up

models for the way odor molecules bind with the some 10 million

odor-detecting neurons on a human nose, a step toward establishing the

Scent Registry that will underpin the concept.

DigiScent's founders hope that by licensing their scent spectrum,

they will create a world of smells for the Internet generation -- perfumes

you can smell online, computer games with the whiff of the jungle or

the tang of jet fuel, movies that give audiences the scents of an

autumn bonfire.

``The sense of smell is closely tied to memory and emotion, making

scent a powerful way to reinforce ideas,'' Bellenson said. ``If a

picture is worth a thousand words, a scent is worth a thousand

pictures.''

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5.2 Smell-o-Vision!

"Smell-o-vision?" Just what are we talking about here? In the past century we

became used to the transmission of sights and sounds through the airwaves and

via the Internet. In essence, "transmission" of visual and auditory information

relies on the electronic coding of waves of electromagnetic energy (light waves)

or of waves of vibrations in a medium (sound waves), the sending of this coded

information, the decoding of this information in a receiver (radio, television,

computer, etc.), and the creation of new light or sound waves based on this

information. But scents? Odors? Smell and taste are the chemical senses. How do

we transmit chemicals via the Internet? Although the concept sending digitized

scents via the Internet from computer to computer may have seemed bizarre a few

years ago, a number of companies are creating hardware and software that will

enable it (Biersdorfer, 2000; Poniewozik, 2000).

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CHAPTER 6

Where is iSmell Used ?

According to Brian Nelson at DigiScents, "What kind of smells can be emitted by

the iSmell device? Just about anything you can imagine."

There are many applications for digital scent technology such as:

* send scented email

* watch scented DVD's

* play scented video games

* sample a perfume from a beauty product's website

* smell the assortment of freshly brewed coffees for sale in their online

store .

6.1 Why Would You Want to Do This?

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There are four basic types of applications that scentware seems a logic fit for at

the moment.

Marketing

Entertainment

Education

Medical

6.1.1Multisensory Marketing:

Death to Banner Ads - Let the Nose Lead the WayCommerce tends to

lead development, which is why some of the bigger scentware developers, like

TriSenx, are partnering with companies that just plain smell. Perfume

manufactures are an obvious fit. They would be able to benefit from doing

market research across the net, emailing you samples of some new fragrance they

might be trying out to see how you like it, and using your feedback to shape the

final product. And the heck with scratch-and-sniff cards in your favorite

magazine. Now you’ll smell their latest and greatest when arrive at your favorite

women’s website or online boutique.

Other companies who’ve taken the bait besides the cosmetics,

fragrance, and health and industries? - restaurants and specialty food shops who

know the smell of pizza wafting out of your PC, or may be mom’s chocolate chip

cookies, will just be too much too resist. It adds a new dimension to the point-of-

sale marketing angle. You’re visiting a website that is known to attract a large

number of people from a particular demographics. The heck with banner

advertising when the marketer has a better way to get you hooked on what

they’re hocking.

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C

HAPTER 7

Entertainment

7.1 E-mail Alive with smell

Of all the uses for scentware, this one scares be most the ability to send emails

with smells anybody can design. Sure, it’ll add a fun new dimension to

Valentine’s Day when you can send an electronic postcard with nice music and a

dozen roses that smell real, but can you imagine the legions of alternatives your

friends ( and others ) will opt for? Dirty sneakers, wet dogs

May be worse assaults to your delicate sensibilities will be within the reach of

email artists and spammers alike.

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There are, however, more creative uses of scentware in bringing to

life the stories we tell through more traditional mediums. Who’s looking at smell-

o-vision now? Movie theatres who want to top surround-sound are now looking

at mounting surround-smell devices on theatre chairs. This might be great if

you’re watching some nice, homey flick full of gardens and cherry pie, but

imagine watching one of tTom Green’s latest romps, complete to the way that’ll

have you out of your chair.

Of course there are also the movies you bring home. Will your next

DVD come complete with a soundtrack AND smelltrack?

For authors and music composers the idea of adding taste and smell to their

creative conjuring seems irresistible. Words can be powerful stimulators of

imagined tastes and smells, but the ability to bring those exact things to life may

make the electronic distribution of storytelling an even more tempting channel.

Perhaps a glimpse of the evolution of mega bookstores and internet cafes?

7.2 Education

Tapping Into Another Information Channel You neede only to walk into a

bakery or popcorn-filled theatre to realize the powerful ability of smell to invoke

memory.

It’s this power that makes the addition of scent to the classroom

experience such an interesting new ally. I don’t know about you, but reading

about Shakespeare or Napoleon out of a textbook was rarely inspiring. Had you

given me the chance to “interact” with history through the sites, sounds tastes and

smells of that time, you’d probably have had me hooked.

Virtual field trips have become an invaluable tool for bringing

important experience into the classroom where time or geography may otherwise

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prevent them. The addition of Smell is acknowledge as a tool that enhances the

memory of that experience, and amount of knowledge that is retained because of

it.

7.3 Medical

A new Tool for Catching Degenerative Neurological Diseases Early

Aromatherapy will perhaps be one of the big drivers of home computer scentware

sales. In addition to ergonomically correct keyboards and mice, music while we

work, and even computer-based workouts to help you keep fit, you can now add

smell to your list of tools for increasing personal wellbeing. The benefits of

aromatherapy go beyond personal pleasure. It’s valued within

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CHAPTER 8

Limitations Of This Technology

The obvious one is the price. Most home computer users won’t be willing to pay

the $250-500+ price tag for the luxury of scratch-and-sniff websites. Some

diehard game fans may find the olfactory add-on a worthwhile boost to their

multimedia experience, but chances are this technology will find its first strong

market in small kiosks and other speciality shops.

While many fragrance mannufacturess will find the ability to use

scentware for both market research and the generation of new sales, most of the

“ScentWare” application available today operate at a very simple level and aren’t

capable of reproducing the very complex protein level of molecule modeling that

commercial fragrances require. Speciality food marketers will face the same

problem . While pizza, popcorn and apple pie are already stock smells in a

number of scentware collections, exact replicas of some of the more complex

“branded” foods that big distributors want to entice you with just won’t be

possible yet. While a few year’s old, the technology is still immature, and will

require a committed partners and reasonable investment to customize the results

in a way that’s suitable for companies whose smell is their branding.

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8.1 THE FUTURE OF DIGISCENTS

When DigiScents debuted in November 2000, the idea had its

Skeptics. Analysts at that time called scent more of a novelty than anything

Else-scent was the least important sense in the scheme of game development.

During 2000, DigiScents could not find more venture capital

fundingTo move beyond developing prototypes. Although the iSmell device had

Failed, it had proved successful during the time of its peak. DiigScents

Distributed nearly 5,000 software developer kits.

At the end of the year 2000, DigiScents had launched their

“Snortal”On the Internet (“sniff +portal”)to allow surfers to discuss,

learn ,smell ,create and register perfumes and smells ,and even send perfumed

emailMessages According to Reuters, Americans has experience the first

“perfumed”Advertising campaigns and Internet sites, while the first “scent-

speakers” will Be available from early 2001.It remains to be seen at what retail

price. DigiScents main focus was” combining biotechnology, informatics, and

sensory research to create a digital platform that will revolutionize the world.

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8.2 THE PRESENTDigiscents were awarded the “best technology “ prize durint the Retail Vision 2001 ceremony, for the past ten years one of the major honour in the IT retailers industry. 2,500 developers have already applied for the ScentWare Developers Kit which was Launched in March 2000 And is used to create “Scented games and multimedia applications.

Wondering what will be the next product? How about tasting things online may be!.

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CONCLUSION

A Scent has a strange power over human beings. It can create a mood, such as

foreshadowing or abbiance. It can intensify emotions such as fear or love. It can

also give the sensation of virtual reality and supension of disbelief.

“The Sence of smell is closely tied to memory and emotion, making

scent a powerful way to reinforce ideas”.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] symbolic Olfactory Display by - Joseph ‘jofish kaye

Thesis Proposal for the degree of master of science

At the massaccusetts institute of technology

Winter –2000

[2] Towards an odor communication system. By- D.Harel,L. Carmel

Department of computer science and applied Mathematics.

[3] www.digiscents.com

[4] www.trisenx.com

[5] www.aromajet.com

[6] www.sentware.com

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