Digitising Smell: From Natural Statistics of Olfactory Perceptual Space to Digital Transmission of Odors

Introduction

This proposal is framed by a technological goal: We aim to digitize smell. Achieving this is currently prevented by gaps in basic science. We aim to fill these gaps, culminating in a proof of concept for our model.

Identifying Gaps

The primary gap we identify is the lack of data on what humans typically smell. Phrased conceptually, in Aim 1 we ask what are the natural statistics of human olfactory perceptual space.

Experimental Approach

We address this in a series of three experiments, highlighted by one where we equip participants with a wearable sampling apparatus we designed and built for this proposal. The apparatus:

• Measures sniffing behaviour to identify odor sampling
• Measures neural activity to verify olfactory perception
• Takes video of the visual scene
• Analyzes total levels of volatile organic compounds in real time
• Collects odor samples for detailed analysis offline

In other words, we generate an olfactory equivalent of Google Street View, with the addition of chemical, perceptual, and neural data. Using this, we will characterize the natural statistics of human olfactory perceptual space.

Data Contribution

Moreover, a major contribution of this proposal will be in posting this massive data as a publicly available resource.

Digitizing Olfactory Perception

Next, in Aim 2 we will use this data to digitize human olfactory perceptual space. We build on a model that allows us to recreate odors using a restricted set of odor primaries.

Frameworks for Testing

We will test our model in two frameworks:

1. SmelloVision: where we develop the algorithmic framework to generate an odor to match any digital image.
2. TelleSmell: where we develop a device to sense the environment, the algorithmic framework to transfer the data, and a device to generate the corresponding odor remotely.

Pilot Data

We provide pilot data for Aim 2 where we sensed an odor in Mainz (Germany), transmitted the data over IP to Rehovot (Israel), where we successfully recreated the smell. This was, as far as we know, the first transmission of odor over IP.