CES 2024 Smell Tech Highlights
CES 2024 was all about AI and while scent tech had a quieter presence this year, a handful of products emerged. Here we explore the scent innovations that surfaced at CES and invite you to imagine how they could revolutionize our olfactory experiences.
SHARP | AI Olfactory Sensor
The AI Olfactory Sensor will “breathe in” a sample and create a digital smell map of the molecular components. This map is cross-referenced with a dataset trained by Sharp’s system using AI inferencing to produce the nearest and most likely match.
The Olfactory Sensor is an Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) gas analysis device with an atmospheric electron release element. This sensor, with a target detection limit of 0.1ppb, demonstrates its ability to detect nuanced variations between different wine varieties.
They are not the first company to smell and map the smell space. In the future how might this kind of technology impact the consumer's experience of fragrance?
BARSYS | Barsys 360 & Barsys Coaster 2.0
Barsys 360 can create a cocktail by combining any six mixers and liquors poured directly into the device. In partnership with ReserveBar, Barsys seamlessly integrates its extensive catalog into the app, allowing users to easily browse, select, and purchase premium spirits and mixers. This integration cocktail-making encourages users to explore a diverse array of ingredients and discover new brands.
Barsys AI and ReserveBar provide personalized suggestions that adapt to individual preferences over time. The Bluetooth-connected app, complemented by the Barsys Coaster 2.0, guides users through the cocktail-making process with step-by-step instructions. The coaster illuminates to indicate when to start and stop pouring each ingredient. This marks a new era of home mixology, offering users the opportunity to craft cocktails from the best bars, mixologists, and brands globally.
Now imagine something like this for at-home fragrance design…
LENOVO MAGIC BAY | Aromatherapy Diffuser
Magic Bay by Lenovo unveiled peripheral concept designs for ThinkBook laptops, including a ring light, a mirror, a small fan, and aromatherapy diffusers. The aromatherapy diffuser utilizes an internal card with essential oils, warming it up for a sensory experience. The availability of these gadgets on the market remains uncertain, and compatibility is limited to a specific range of ThinkBook products.
Incorporating scent to enhance our work experience is a compelling use case. How could this be digitized and what inputs could be used for this optimization?
L’OREAL YSL l Scent — Sation Paris France
YSL Beauty partnered with EMOTIV to develop a fragrance discovery experience allowing consumers to find a neurological match to the fragrance that makes them “feel good”. Through their partnership, YSL developed an in-store fragrance consultation experience that connects consumers’ neuro responses to their fragrance preferences via a multi-sensor EEG-based headset.
Consumers smell 6 accords “blind” to calibrate their specific preferences. Each olfactory stimulus is mapped to the five points: relaxed, focused, less stressed, stimulated, and energized. These are based on neural activity by measuring the electrical impulses they trigger in specific areas of the brain. A personal recommendation is then formulated by a L’Oreal algorithm. Scent-Sation premiered at Dubai Mall in the YSL Beauty Innovation Lab pop-up in 2021.
It’s only a matter of time before consumer products incorporate biofeedback to pinpoint the most fitting scent for evoking a specific mood at any given moment.
AROMAJOIN l Aroma Speaker 60
The Aroma Speaker 60 can shoot 60 scents up to 6 or 7 feet (2 meters), play sound and synch the scents to video content shown on the screen. There are 2 speakers made up of 5 modules each. Each module is equipped with cartridges that carry 6 scents.
The Aromajoin team sees this speaker as a platform to demonstrate their technology. Their developers created an open-source companion application and SDK that allows other developers to add scents to video content.
Though the synchronization of scent with audio-visuals is now achievable, the pivotal use case that will drive widespread adoption is still on the horizon.
BARACODA | BMind
No scent, but what if? BMind is a smart mirror designed for holistic well-being. It employs AI, along with Computer Vision and Large Language Models to interpret expressions, gestures, and language, seamlessly adapting to users’ changing moods.
The mirror provides light therapy sessions and automatically generates mindfulness exercises and contributes to overall well-being through immersive experiences with light, sound, and visuals. It is developed on the CareOS platform.
Consider envisioning a scenario where this mirror also incorporates scent in the bathroom, transforming it into a well-being space or even dispersing a fragrance tailored to our moods to support our upcoming activities.
The journey has just begun, and the fusion of AI and scent promises a sensory adventure that transcends the boundaries of our digital experiences. For a more extensive review of products and innovations in AI and smell from around the world, get in touch olivia@futureofsmell.com.
