Engaging Citizens in Scent Technology: Exploring Olfactory Integration Across Contexts

Emily Barker -

The integration of olfactory technology into various environments—including Virtual Reality (VR), art galleries, city centres, and classrooms—remains underexplored. However, as this technology advances, its potential to enhance user experiences in everyday life is becoming increasingly evident. 

Despite these advancements, there is a significant gap in knowledge surrounding best practices and guidelines for the ethical and effective use of olfactory devices. To address this issue, a workshop at DIS 2023 aimed to co-create a set of recommendations for incorporating scent into daily life. Participants engaged in dynamic discussions and collaborative activities, focusing on scent's application in three key contexts: Public, Private, and Digital. 

This collaborative effort allowed attendees to share insights and expertise, laying the groundwork for a comprehensive code of practice for scent-based interactions. The workshop underscored the necessity of establishing clear guidelines to ensure the responsible use of olfactory technology while maximising its benefits across various settings. 

As a follow-up to this workshop, we authored an article for Interactions that explores these concepts and outlines key questions for advancing the field of scent-based interactive design. The article presents the following insights: 

  • Developing adaptable scent devices for different environments can promote wider adoption in HCI and interactive systems. 
  • Each environment presents unique challenges and opportunities, necessitating continued exploration and tailored design approaches. 
  • Scent's ability to evoke memories and emotions offers opportunities to deepen connections, ranging from cultural heritage to urban design. 

This ongoing project is a collaborative effort involving Anna R L Carter, from the Centre for Digital Citizens, Northumbria University; Ceylan Besevli, Christopher Dawes and Marianna Obrist from the Multi-Sensory Devices Group, University College London. 

In recognition of this work, Anna was invited to present at the UCL event “Smell Above All: Where Scent Meets the Nose,” where she discussed citizen-led initiatives and their importance in scent-related research. 

Impact: 

  • Anna R L Carter, Ceylan Besevli, Christopher Dawes and Marianna Obrist. 2024. Scent & Space: Navigating Smell Interactions in Public, Private, and Virtual Spaces. Interactions (November – December 2024).  
  • Anna R. L. Carter, Marianna Obrist, Christopher Dawes, Alan Dix, Jennifer Pearson, Matt Jones, Dimitrios Zampelis, and Ceylan Beşevli. 2023. Scent InContext: Design and Development around Smell in Public and Private Spaces. In Companion Publication of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '23 Companion). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 138–141. https://doi.org/10.1145/3563703.3591455