Researchers at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology present a high-tech twist on the Smell-O-Vision idea-- presenting a system that makes smells appear from any spot on an LCD display at the IEEE Virtual Reality conference, Orlando.

No, dear reader, we assure you this is not a rerun of that classic 1965 April Fool's Day prank, where BBC TV aired an interview with the alleged inventor of "Smellovision," never mind the far more recent "Google Nose" take on exactly the same joke...

Slightly more advanced than the scratch-and-sniff cards employed by John Waters in the "Odoroma" version of Polyester, the "smelling screen" developed by the Japanese team feeds odours from vaporising gel pellets into 4 air streams (one for each corner of the display). Fans blow out the air streams in parallel to the screen surface, varying strength and direction to guide smells into a particular spot on the screen.

Reportedly the airflow from the fans is gentle and accurate enough to trick viewers into thinking on-screen objects are actually creating the smells in question!

So far the system produces only one smell at a time, but team leader Haruka Matsukura says the next step in development is printer-style smell cartridges for easy smell-changing functionality.

So far no vendor mentions interest in commercialising the technology, but the team suggests it could be used to enhance digital signage displays. Smelling the (digitally) advertised produce at the airport or train station? Thanks, but then again... no thanks.

Go IEEE Virtual Reality Conference Research Demos

Go Smell-O-Vision Screens Let You Really Smell the Coffee (New Scientist)