Artificial Odour-Vision Syneasthesia via Olfactory Sensory Argumentation

Ward, Ryan J ORCID: 0000-0002-9850-5191, Jjunju, Fred PM ORCID: 0000-0001-6257-434X, Griffith, Elias J ORCID: 0000-0001-9360-381X, Wuerger, Sophie M ORCID: 0000-0003-0080-5813 and Marshall, Alan ORCID: 0000-0002-8058-5242 (2021) Artificial Odour-Vision Syneasthesia via Olfactory Sensory Argumentation IEEE Sensors Journal, 21 (5). pp. 6784-6792. ISSN 1530-437X, 2379-9153

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Abstract

The phenomenology of synaesthesia provides numerous cognitive benefits, which could be used towards augmenting interactive experiences with more refined multisensorial capabilities leading to more engaging and enriched experiences, better designs, and more transparent human-machine interfaces. In this study, we report a novel framework for the transformation of odours into the visual domain by applying the ideology from synaesthesia, to a low cost, portable, augmented reality/virtual reality system. The benefits of generating an artificial form of synesthesia are outlined and implemented using a custom made electronic nose to gather information about odour sources which is then sent to a mobile computing engine for characterisation, classification, and visualisation. The odours are visualised in the form of coloured 2D abstract shapes in real-time. Our results show that our affordable system has the potential to increase human odour discrimination comparable to that of natural syneasthesia highlighting the prospects for augmenting human-machine interfaces with an artificial form of this phenomenon.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Olfactory, Sensor phenomena and characterization, Sensor arrays, Visualization, Gas detectors, Electronic noses, Engines, Augmented reality, e-nose, electronic nose, olfaction, syneasthesia, artificial syneasthesia, human-machine interface
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	11 Dec 2020 11:14
Last Modified:	01 Mar 2026 10:22
DOI:	10.1109/jsen.2020.3040114
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2020.3040114
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3109985
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