Practical Applications of Smell Recordings

ozmanjusri writes to mention a Tokyo Institute of Technology project to record scents for later playback. The New Scientist article suggests this technology could be used in commercials and medical applications. From the article: "Simply point the gadget at a freshly baked cookie, for example, and it will analyse its odour and reproduce it for you using a host of non-toxic chemicals. The device could be used to improve online shopping by allowing you to sniff foods or fragrances before you buy, to add an extra dimension to virtual reality environments and even to assist military doctors treating soldiers remotely by recreating bile, blood or urine odours that might help a diagnosis."

Smell-o-vision

[dubmun]

Yay! Now I will be able to smell decomposing bodies when I watch CSI...

Cue the "Pull My Finger" virus

[Anonymous Coward]

In 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Literally!

[PavementPizza]

This is literally vaporware!

Re:Viruses

[Julz]

And they would make it smell like vomit because ....?

Perhaps other smells might be more appropriate. Then again you could have a kids filter that changes all those nasty pron smells to something really terrible so the kids don't want to be in there.

Warez could be burning plastic or perhaps the smell of blood, sweat and tears or maybe money.

lordy

[caffiend2049]

I smell a rat.

Just Imagine the applications for this in...

[in_repose]

PORN! You could smell her! Thinking about this further, it seems hilarious, insightful, scary, invigorating, fulfilling, unclean, erotic, and brilliant! TIGHT.

Flicked past A&E the other night

[Deliveranc3]

They were advertising the "sex suit" only for women, it's crazy that they are trying to put sex on the internet before something useful.

Ah well, sex sells. Even weird kinky smell sex, just include a "urine smell" and you'll sell to perverts everywhere!

FARTS..

[Boap]

With a device like that you could record and leave the stinkiest farts around and play great pratical jokes.

Re:Literally!

[tomhudson]

This is literally vaporware!

Actually, I think the MPAA has prior art - they've been releasing expensive stinkers for decades.

Dear Old Dad

[madgeorge]

I'm blacklisting Dad now. Whatever you do, don't open that email with the subject line "Barking Frog"

AMD should ramp this up

[IlliniECE]

Using our NextGen microFartchitecture, we were able to process 4 smells a second, including the one of an old AMD cpu with the heatsink removed.

Drugs anyone?

[__aaijsn7246]

What about recording the smell of marijuana or cocaine and launching a massive Denial Of Service attack against Customs and the DEA?

Woot! I hope I can read Slashdot from my cell in Gitmo. :(

Good news, everyone!

[Sagachi]

"...what if we want to smell distant objects? Well now we can! Thanks to my new invention ... the Smell-o-scope!"

"If a dog craps anywhere in the universe, you can bet I won't be out of the loop!"