development of directional olfactory display
When we display the olfactory information in VR, the controlled release of aroma to stimulate olfactory organ is an important factor. In fact, temporal and spatial control of aroma constituent is the elemental technology. The long-term preservation of the aromatic materials and the miniaturization of olfactory display are also desirable. Most traditional researches on olfactory displays focused on temporal control of aroma, but the importance of spatial control of aroma was not well realized. In addition, some of previous olfactory displays used liquid-type aromatic materials, which were nondurable. In this research, we generated directional air flow with aromas by using micro air flow source. With this approach, spatial control of aroma and miniaturization of olfactory display were achieved. Furthermore, we were able to extend the duration of aromatic materials, as the aroma source enclosed in a calcium silicate was encapsulated inside the nearly-sealed device.
olfactory display long-term preservation directional air flow