Pulse ejection presentation system synchronized with breathing

Trials on the transmission of olfactory information together with audio and visual information are currently being conducted in the multimedia field. However, continuous emission of scents in high concentrations creates problems of human adaptation and remnant odors in the air. To overcome such problems we developed an olfactory display in conjunction with Canon Inc. This display has high emission control in the inkjet so that it can provide stable pulse emission of scents. Humans catch a scent when they breathe in and inhale small molecules in air. Therefore, it is important that the timing of scent presentation be synchronized with human breathing. We also developed a breath sensor which detects human breathing-in (inspiration). In this study, we combined the olfactory display with the breath sensor to make a pulse ejection presentation system synchronized with the breath. The experimental evaluation showed that the system had a detection rate above 90%. Another evaluation was held at Keio Techno-Mall 2007. From questionnaire results of the participants, we found that the system made the user feel a continuous sense of smell, without the occurrence of adaptation. It is expected that our system will allow olfactory information to be synchronized with audio and visual information for an arbitrary duration and at any time.