Mar 31, 2026 08:52 PM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1122127
INTRO: A multi-channel wearable scent display developed at Institute of Science Tokyo allows a user to experience multiple scents while exploring virtual environments. Based on virtual scenes, the device can blend up to eight fragrances in real time and deliver them with precise control of odor intensity.
By synchronizing smell with virtual reality content, the device enables better immersion and realism—opening new possibilities for enhanced digital entertainment, realistic simulation training, and future digital scent technologies.
Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are rapidly advancing, allowing users to see and hear highly realistic virtual environments. But most VR systems only rely on visual and auditory experiences, leaving out one of the most powerful human senses—the sense of smell. Research shows that the sense of smell is strongly connected to memory, emotions, and environmental perception. However, incorporating multiple scents into VR experiences remains challenging.
Olfactory displays are devices that generate scents in response to digital content. Although promising, most of these devices are bulky and difficult to integrate into wearable VR systems. To overcome this, a team of researchers led by Specially Appointed Professor Takamichi Nakamoto from Laboratory for Future Interdisciplinary Research of Science and Technology (FIRST), Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo), Japan, along with Doctoral Student Zhe Zou from the Department of Information and Communications Engineering, School of Engineering, Science Tokyo, and Kelvin Cheng, R&D Manager at Rakuten Mobile, Inc. and Rakuten Institute of Technology, Japan, has developed a multi-channel wearable olfactory display capable of generating blended scents in real time.
Their findings were published in the IEEE Sensors Journal on February 23, 2026. “We created a small-sized scent generation system that can be worn together with a VR device, so a user can experience scents that match the virtual environments as they explore, and a single user can use it at the same time,” explains Nakamoto.
One of the key features of this device is its ability to blend multiple scents to match the VR display in real-time. It can blend up to eight different fragrance components simultaneously, and by adjusting their mixing ratio, the system can reproduce a wide range of scents. The researchers achieved this by optimizing the methods for supplying and controlling fragrances while limiting the size of the driving circuit... (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: A multi-channel wearable scent display developed at Institute of Science Tokyo allows a user to experience multiple scents while exploring virtual environments. Based on virtual scenes, the device can blend up to eight fragrances in real time and deliver them with precise control of odor intensity.
By synchronizing smell with virtual reality content, the device enables better immersion and realism—opening new possibilities for enhanced digital entertainment, realistic simulation training, and future digital scent technologies.
Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are rapidly advancing, allowing users to see and hear highly realistic virtual environments. But most VR systems only rely on visual and auditory experiences, leaving out one of the most powerful human senses—the sense of smell. Research shows that the sense of smell is strongly connected to memory, emotions, and environmental perception. However, incorporating multiple scents into VR experiences remains challenging.
Olfactory displays are devices that generate scents in response to digital content. Although promising, most of these devices are bulky and difficult to integrate into wearable VR systems. To overcome this, a team of researchers led by Specially Appointed Professor Takamichi Nakamoto from Laboratory for Future Interdisciplinary Research of Science and Technology (FIRST), Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo), Japan, along with Doctoral Student Zhe Zou from the Department of Information and Communications Engineering, School of Engineering, Science Tokyo, and Kelvin Cheng, R&D Manager at Rakuten Mobile, Inc. and Rakuten Institute of Technology, Japan, has developed a multi-channel wearable olfactory display capable of generating blended scents in real time.
Their findings were published in the IEEE Sensors Journal on February 23, 2026. “We created a small-sized scent generation system that can be worn together with a VR device, so a user can experience scents that match the virtual environments as they explore, and a single user can use it at the same time,” explains Nakamoto.
One of the key features of this device is its ability to blend multiple scents to match the VR display in real-time. It can blend up to eight different fragrance components simultaneously, and by adjusting their mixing ratio, the system can reproduce a wide range of scents. The researchers achieved this by optimizing the methods for supplying and controlling fragrances while limiting the size of the driving circuit... (MORE - details, no ads)