News JVTech Thanks to this new technology, it is now possible to feel the metaverse
Today, the Metaverse is often singled out for its lack of realism, resulting in sub-optimal immersion for its users. With this new technology of smelling odors in the virtual world, it could well take another turn.
Experimenting the senses in an entirely virtual world was initially limited to Hollywood sci-fi movies like Ready Player One. Today, however, the synopsis is gett ing closer and closer to reality.
At the CES technology fair in Las Vegas from January 5th to 8th, the American company OVR presented a surprising virtual reality headset. This allows you to really smell the smells of the virtual world!
The scent technology comes in the form of a virtual reality headset accessory. The rectangular object is placed under the VR headset and allows odors to be diffused up to the user’s nose. These chemical smells are automatically triggered based on your avatar’s location in the digital environment.
To test the helmet, some were able to experience virtual camping by smelling the smoke of a fully digital campfire with a faint scent of roasted marshmallow.
Another step towards the Internet of the Senses
This initiative brings us a little closer to the term “Internet of the Senses”. This term, presented as a revolution for the next few years, is defined by the immersion of our 5 senses in digital technology. Specifically, the end goal is to physically feel our virtual experiences for maximum realism.
The most developed senses in the digital world are sight and hearing. Many companies are therefore striving to integrate touch, taste or even smell into the digital world. In this logic, the Internet of Senses seems to be the avenue to be exploited for the metaverse to gain consistency and interest. According to OVR, the sense of smell is an essential part to develop, as it is precisely this sense that requires memories and memories – enough to remember one’s passage through the metaverse.
In addition, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, which has embarked on the project of a universal metaverse, is actively working on the topic. Through the research and development organization Meta Reality Labs, the group has been testing haptic gloves that can reproduce touch for more than a year.
In conjunction with other technologies, the OVR accessory could lead to confusing experiences in the metaverse. Last year, an American research institute developed a VR headset accessory that could reproduce the touch of lips.
So all that remains is to look into taste to be able to taste your first meal in the metaverse – even if the development of this sense seems to have lagged behind the others at the moment.
