Can Smell Be Captured and Transferred Electronically?

[.physics]

Has anyone ever heard of or know about any technology that could capture , store or transfer smell in any form electronically or mechanically. Are there any researches being conducted in universities or research facilities regarding this topic or have there been any achievements so far.

I would highly appreciate if anybody has their own concept about how this could be done.

I have few of my own ideas about it and would be happy to invite people into discussion who are interested in this topic.

 

[Naty1]

Check here...there are some clear concepts about what constitutes 'smell', such as volatile chemicals. So one could convert spectrographic analysis of compounds to olfactory impressions..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell_receptors

Volatile small molecule odorants, non-volatile proteins, and non-volatile hydrocarbons may all produce olfactory sensations.

As far as I know, space exploration vehicles utilize spectrographic analysis to detect chemical/element analysis. ... so far as I know [and it is NOT much] smell may be rather subjective...consider how dogs greet each other versus how humans do it...I prefer a handshake, but the dogs seems to find no offensive odors...just impressions. THAT might be really difficult to capture if you are headed in such a direction.

Depending on where you are headed, you might consider biomedical electronics...but I have no knowledge what has been developed there, if anything.

PS: check here for some visual impression of spectrographic analysis..all in electrical format for convenient storage and transmission...

https://www.google.com/search?q=spe...DGCrKp4APskYCQBw&ved=0CFsQsAQ&biw=800&bih=509

 

[.physics]

Thanks for that info. I am learning a few things. I think the concept would be much clear if someone directly or indirectly involved in related project would put some insight into it. This topic has been one of my curiosity for a long time. We can figure out various possibilities and usefulness if this technique were ever possible.

May be we could expect something like in this Google's site http://www.google.com/nose in near future. Many may not have known about this Google prank so far. Check it out it's fun.

 

[Bobbywhy]

.physics, sorry, but there is no "funny stuff" contained in these two websites. They describe the storing, the transfer, and the scents electrically and mechanically.

Here is a commercial company that provides scent cartridges, the means to disperse the scents, with over 1,600 quality scents to choose from.
http://www.scentair.com/why-scentair-solutions/

Here’s a review of “smellvertising”:
http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/blog/viral-marketing-smellvertising-3d-billboards-and-you/

 

[Naty1]

Reading the prior post, and I did not follow the links, reminds me that for a while there were 'scratch and sniff' scents..as for soaps and perfumes...small scratch offs pasted in magazines...all 'mechanical'...