James Delahunty
7 Apr 2008 20:34
Japan's NTT Communications Corp, something of an innovator and leader in mobile phone services, has a peculiar and interesting service ready to be tested in the country. The general idea in a nutshell is to let testers use their mobile phones to download content that triggers certain fragrances. In the test, 20 users are asked to keep aroma pots in their rooms that are equipped with infrared sensors capable of receiving signals from a mobile phone.
Sixteen different aromatic essences are stored in each pot, ranging from chamomile to peppermint. Using NTT DoCoMo Inc's i-mode Internet service, the testers choose from music and video clips to download. When a download begins, the phone will send a signal out for the infrared sensors on the aroma pot which will then blend the required essences to emit the appropriate scent.
As many as two hundred different fragrances can be produced from combinations of the original sixteen. Some are made to be useful, such as fragrances that help concentration or sleep. The trial will last between April 10th and April 20th, and if successful, it could be commercialized as "Mobile Fragrance Communication," and offer more features such as the ability to send files with scent attachments.
"If demand is strong, we would like to make this service available by March next year," said spokeswoman Yasuko Oka.