On the effect of airflow on odor presentation

Abstract

This article describes the investigations on the effect of airflow on the perception of odors presented by an olfactory display device. A clear sensation of the direction to an odor source can be given to the user of the olfactory display when the air currents are provided to the user's face by using fans. When the air currents are not provided, the user feels as if the source is placed nearby. We hypothesize that this sensation is caused by the upward air currents generated by our body temperature. When there is no wind, only the odors from nearby sources are brought to our noses by the upward air currents. The result of a sensory test shows that the perceived location of an odor source changes with the airflow presented to the panelist. Providing airflow together with odors is thus promising to reproduce complicated situations that cannot be reproduced by olfactory stimulation alone.