HUMAN SENSE OF SMELL
Objects, both organic and inorganic, release odor molecules in response to energy variation or biological processes. When energy increase (temperature, agitation, pressure), evaporation of odor occurs, and it then becomes possible for humans to absorb this odor through their nasal cavities. These odors are commonly referred to as VOCs or volatile organic compounds.
This stimulates the nasal olfactory neurons and then the olfactory bulb, and using other information, such as memory and visual inputs, the olfactory cortex produces the final result: the identification of the smell of the object.
Mimicking smell
Digital olfaction binds odor molecules to biosensors, which act as the olfactory bulb, and produces a unique odor signature. Once the odor signatures are detected, software then interprets those signatures based on a database of previously collected and analyzed odors. Think of this almost as our memory bank, which our brains rely on to correlate individual smells to life experiences and learnings and classifies the odor accordingly.
HOW IT WORKS
Digital olfaction not only provides consistency in the definition and use of smell, but enables companies to use odor data collected to inform key business decisions, from rejecting or approving a raw material supply, to reducing analysis time in the R&D formulation of a new beverage by outlining whether the new formula tastes similar to the original. In addition, these solutions are helping companies improve user experiences with applications in the automotive and consumer appliance markets.
