industrial design engineering, royal college of art david sweeney ...

industrial design engineering, royal college of art david sweeney 2007
I was aware that such devices tread dangerously upon the fine line between gimmicks and
truly beneficial products. I attempted to integrate the basis of this concept into my final design
without resorting to this contrived method of interaction.
I then explored the employment of smell as a medium to display abstract information. It
has been shown that smell can be used as a channel to transfer information. This information
can be thought of something like an alarm clock reminder, where a time or an event
triggers the release of a smell, as a reminder to take medication, of a birthday, a meeting,
to inform about the status of an eBay item, etc.
Smells ability to affect in the background makes it an ideal carrier for slow moving information.
For example, imagine it was my business to match supply with demand, when there
was an increase in sales, there would be an increase in one odour and a decrease in another,
and if there were a decrease in sales, there would be a corresponding change in the
mixture of the ambient scent. I would have a better instinct of the trends that affect my
business, and would soon learn to trust that instinct.
Market prices, any system where the state needs to be kept at an equilibrium, cholesterol
and insulin levels in our body, whether the number of hits to a website are up or down, approval
ratings, managing slow-moving perishables, how many of your relations are in town
this weekend. When to have a glass of water prehaps?
In situations where we would like to remember an event in a more qualitative manner, how
we felt at the time and other related emotions, etc. These events can be recalled in their
correct emotional contexts and could trigger a flood of other related memories. This could
be seen to be a more aesthetic aspect of the project.
As we get older, our hedonic perceptions of smells approaches cultural norms, Butyric acid
generally elicits irritation and disgust, lavender relaxes, peppermint focuses concentration,
etc. These are very much culturally specific; wintergreen mint is loved in the United States
(smells of confectionary) but generally disliked in Britain (used in medicines and topical
creams since the war). A device could be produced to detect changes in moods and
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