Sounds you can smell: Panasonic Aromation adds aromas to your arias

Do you like your music to smell Katy-Perry-candy-sweet? Or how about Sex-Pistol-peppery? It’s a consideration that Panasonic thinks music fans might have to make alongside their choice of streaming services in the future.

During the company’s centenary celebrations in Tokyo at the Panasonic Innovation Forum, it let visitors have a sniff at their favourite sounds with the Aromation concept.

A tabletop touchpanel designed within the company’s new Game Changer Catapult incubator group, it features an aroma diffuser in its centre that uses algorithms to match the wave patterns of your songs to a smell that suits the mood. 

Sound and smell-o-vision

To illustrate the idea, Panasonic offered two sliding points on a scattergraph-like grid, pitting a mood against sonic intensity. Softer, calmer tunes would give off a rose-like scent, while livelier, heavier beats released peppery, citrusy smells.

As a concept piece, the Aromation is as much an experiment as it is any device with an end-user or market spot in mind. But look to the way we enjoy our tunes now, with noise-cancelling headphones designed to fully immerse the listener in their favourite songs.

Whether the Aromation can further that sense of immersion, or act as an extra distraction, will probably be determined by your olfactory prowess or nasal sensitivity. But if a sense of synaesthesia is top of your list when it comes to that full entertainment experience, there may be room for an Aromation system in some shape or form in your home yet.

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