Suppose you were browsing through an online food catalog and could smell the hot buttered popcorn or freshly baked cookies shown on the screen?
Soon that will be possible, thanks to the musings and expertise of Dexster Smith and his partner Joel Bellenson. Lounging on Miami’s South Beach after making their first fortune from the success of their Internet company Bioinforma tics – which simulates biochemistry for drug research – the two men were inspired by the scent of the sea air and created another industry.
DigiScents Inc. is the fruit – or aroma – of their labor. Founded in 1999, the Oakland, CA, company produces and markets hardware and software that will give online users a whiff of the Net while at their computers.
The hardware, called iSmell, which will be available at the end of the year, is a speaker-sized device that plugs into a personal computer and can release up to 128 scents made from oils contained in the box. The device includes replaceable cartridges similar to those used in color printers.
The software will be distributed to 80 million users of music and entertainment site Real.com starting this month. It tells the box in what ratio to combine the scented oils to produce the desired smells. Users are expected to hold onto the software until the iSmell box is ready, and then enjoy aromas along with their music.
“We feel like the software will be the key to what we’re calling a revolution of the senses,” says Smith. “It’s using smell as another means of communication.” Some of the smells available are fruits, spices, grass, flowers, the ocean, chocolate, gun smoke and burning rubber. Companies can also customize a smell.
Smith says he’s in discussions with a number of large companies that produce foods, beverages and household goods. Other applications might be online beauty product catalogs where one could smell the perfumes and other items. Scent links could be included in e-mail, so one might, for example, send a loving greeting along with the smell of a rose.
Movie studios and Web game producers are also talking to DigiScents about how smell can enhance the entertainment experience.
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