Social media could add another level of interaction in the future: scent.
A University of Bristol group has developed a technology called SensaBubble that sends out multi-sensory soap bubbles that release a scent or carry images, CNET reported.
"The human sense of smell is powerful, but there are few research systems that explore and examine ways to use it. We have taken the first steps to explore how smell can be used to enhance and last longer in a visual object such as a soap bubble," Sriram Subramanian, a professor in the university's computer science department and lead researcher on the project, said in a press release.
Presenting their findings at a conference this week, the University of Bristol team members have created a system to generate bubbles into the air--but these aren't your average soap-and-water spheres. Described as a "display system," the bubbles can be tailored to specific sizes and directed mid-air while carrying images.
SensaBubble could be the next stage of interactive technology and has potential for advertising, education, notification alerts and more.
"There are many areas in which bubble-based technology like SensaBubble could be applied, such as a SensaBubble clock that releases the number of scented bubbles corresponding to the hour or SensaBubble Maths, an educational game for children, which incorporates smell as feedback on their success," Subramanian said in the press release.
CNET theorized that the technology could someday be applied to Twitter; for example, a romantic interest's tweet about you could trigger a rose scent.
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