Japanese gadget records, replicates odor

[norml]

Japanese gadget records, replicates odor

Posted 7/11/2006 9:15 PM ET

By Hans Greimel, Associated Press


TOKYO — People stopping to smell the roses can now take that sweet floral fragrance home with them or even send it to a faraway grandmother thanks to a new gadget in Japan that records and replicates the world's odors.

The new device, developed by scientists at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, analyzes smells through 15 sensors, records the odor's recipe in digital format and then reproduces the scent by mixing 96 chemicals and vaporizing the result.

Creator Takamichi Nakamoto says the technology will have applications in food and fragrance industries where companies want to replicate odors. But it could also be a boon for the digital world, allowing smells to be recorded in one place — by sensors in a mobile phone, for instance — and transmitted to appreciative noses halfway around the world.

It could also aid online shoppers by letting people check out perfumes or flowers before they buy.

"The sensitivity of the human nose is very good," Nakamoto said. "But to some extent we can replicate the performance."


snip


http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2006-07-11-japanese-smell-device_x.htm?POE=TECISVA