Click and smell: i-Aroma

Robin Harding's June 16, 2009 Financial Times Tech Blog post brings news of Japan-based NTT Communication's bleeding edge Internet offering; the post follows.

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The Internet Stinks

Or it will soon if Japan’s largest telephone company has its way.

Silicon Valley may be atwitter over Twitter but NTT Communications has a different proposition for the future of the internet: Fragrance Communication.

The company is now recruiting consumers to test its i-Aroma service. Those chosen will get an aroma diffuser unit [above and below] to plug into the USB port of their computer - then NTT Com will send them smells across the internet. According to NTT Com:

“Six base oils loaded in the device are mixed and vaporized-without using water or flame-to create specific fragrances according to commands transmitted from the PC via USB cable.”

Aroma diffusers - including USB aroma diffusers - have been around for a while so the question is: what benefits accrue from networking the device? Smells designed by astrologist Ryuji Kagami and aroma therapist Kaoru Sasaki, according to NTT Com.

“The course designed by Kagami, which is based on an ancient astrological system, displays a message from the dominant planet at a given hour and emits a matching fragrance. The service supervised by Sasaki emits fragrances matched to the rhythm of daily life, such as waking , working and going to sleep.”

It is unwise to make predictions about what Japanese consumers will like, and NTT Com say that they see i-Aroma as a serious commercial project, but it still reeks of being a technology in search of an application.

NTT Com already offers a service for shops and public spaces that want to smell nice, and says that, “Services combining fragrances with Web-distributed content related to astrology, movies, music and background videos have been developed for Internet cafes, hotels, movie theaters and stores.”

Any better ideas? What chance a scent peripheral from Nintendo for the Wii?

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You say you want to apply?

No problem: just make sure you're in Japan, then go here or here.