原文標題：
Smell-O-Vision2.0
Bringing scents to the metaverse
VR enthusiasts turn their attentions to an evocative, but neglected, sense
嗅覺視覺2.0
將氣味帶入元宇宙
VR愛好者們將注意力轉向了一個引起共鳴但被忽視的感官

How to bring scents to the metaverse
如何將氣味帶入虛擬世界？

[Paragraph 1]

IT WAS one of those many inventions that never quite took off.

它是眾多從未真正騰飛的發(fā)明之一。

In 1960, audiences watching the film “Scent of Mystery” got to experience the wonders of “Smell-O-Vision”.

1960年，看《神秘的氣味》電影的觀眾體驗到了 "嗅覺視覺 "的神奇。

Mounted under the cinema seats, the system pumped out 30 different scents—from salty ocean breezes to whiffs of wine—at crucial moments in the plot. The system had its quirks.

該系統(tǒng)安裝在電影院的座位下方，在關鍵劇情處散發(fā)出30種不同的氣味--從海風的咸咸味道到縷縷葡萄酒香。該系統(tǒng)有獨特之處。

Those in the balcony complained that the smells reached them too late. Others found the scents to be too faint, or else irritatingly persistent.

但樓座上的觀眾抱怨說氣味傳到他們身邊太晚。其他觀眾要么覺得這些氣味太微弱，要么覺得氣味太濃太久。

More novel than effective, Smell-O-Vision never really took root in Hollywood.

嗅覺視覺效果平平，只是形式新穎，因此從未在好萊塢真正扎根。

[Paragraph 2]

These days the cutting-edge of entertainment is video games and virtual reality, not films.Several groups are trying to bring scents to virtual worlds.

如今最前沿的娛樂是視頻游戲和虛擬現(xiàn)實，而不是電影。一些團隊正努力將氣味帶入虛擬世界。

In one paper published this week in Nature Communications, Xinge Yu at City University of Hong Kong and Yuhang Li at Beihang University describe two wearable “olfaction interfaces”.

本周發(fā)表在《自然通訊》上的一篇論文中，香港城市大學的于欣格和北京航空航天大學的李宇航描述了兩種可穿戴的“嗅覺接口”。

The first is the size of a plaster, and is affixed to the skin, like a fake moustache, under the user’s nose. The second, more capable version is a flexible face mask.
第一種是石膏大小，像假胡子一樣貼在用戶鼻子下方的皮膚上。第二種是能力更強的靈活面罩。

[Paragraph 3]

Both rely on heating tiny tiles of paraffin wax that have been impregnated with various liquid perfumes.

兩者都依賴于加熱浸有各種液體香水的小石蠟。

The smaller version of the system uses two such tiles; the bigger one has nine.

小版本（假胡子）使用兩塊石蠟；大版本（面罩）有九塊。

The researchers claim that they can generate a scent, such as mint or green tea, in as little as 1.44 seconds.

研究人員說，它們可以在短短1.44秒內產生一種氣味，如薄荷味或綠茶味。

The nine generators on the mask can combine to produce hundreds of possible odours.
面罩上的九個發(fā)生器可以結合起來，產生數(shù)百種氣味。

[Paragraph 4]

Drs Li and Yu have been beaten to market by OVR, a startup based in Vermont.

李博士和于博士的發(fā)明已被位于佛蒙特州的初創(chuàng)公司OVR 搶先上市。

Its headset uses a system of refillable cartridges, each of which can make thousands of scents.

它的虛擬現(xiàn)實耳機使用一種可補充的墨盒系統(tǒng)，每個墨盒可以產生成數(shù)千種氣味。

The firm’s newest product, the “ION3”, will be released later this year, and can be tied into existing game-creation tools with minimal fuss.
該公司的最新產品 "ION3 "將于今年晚些時候發(fā)布，并且可以毫不費力地與現(xiàn)有的游戲制作工具結合起來。

[Paragraph 5]

Getting smells right could make virtual worlds more compelling. Odours are famously evocative.

對的氣味可以使虛擬世界更具吸引力。眾所周知，氣味引發(fā)聯(lián)想。

The part of the brain that processes them connects directly to parts associated with emotions and memory.

大腦中處理氣味的部分直接與情感和記憶有關的部分相連。

But the science is tricky.Unlike colour or sound, where wavelengths and frequencies combine in predictable ways, smell is not so straightforward.

但科學很棘手。與顏色或聲音不同，色彩波長和聲音頻率以可預測的方式結合在一起，而氣味則沒那么簡單。

Altering a single chemical bond can shift a scent from sweet to rancid.

改變單個化學鍵就可以將氣味從甜味轉變?yōu)楦粑丁?br>

Whether smelly VR will do better than smelly films remains to be seen.

嗅覺VR是否會比嗅覺電影做得更好，尚無定論。

But perhaps one day users will be able to stop, swipe and smell the virtual roses.
但也許有一天，用戶停下來刷一下設備就能聞到虛擬世界的玫瑰花香。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量435左右）
原文出自：2023年5月13日《The Economist》Science & technology版塊

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene

本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學習交流使用。

【補充資料】（來自于網絡）
嗅覺視覺Smell-O-Vision是一個在20世紀60年代提出的概念，旨在通過向電影中添加氣味來增強觀影體驗。這個想法是在電影中特定的時刻釋放不同的氣味，與屏幕上正在發(fā)生的事情相對應。然而，這項技術從未真正流行起來，只有少數(shù)幾部電影曾使用過統(tǒng)。這個系統(tǒng)通過位于每個座位下方的通風口來散發(fā)氣味。當電影進入特定場景時，風扇會將氣味吹向觀眾。這些氣味通常使用化學物質和天然成分混合而成，并旨在模擬花、食物或甚至火藥等氣味。雖然看起來很新穎，但實際上它很難有效地實施。這些氣味通常太過濃烈或與屏幕上所發(fā)生的不匹配，而安裝和維護設備的成本對大多數(shù)電影院來說過高。因此這種體驗最終并沒有持續(xù)發(fā)展下去。

【重點句子】（3個）
These days the cutting-edge of entertainment is video games and virtual reality, not films.Several groups are trying to bring scents to virtual worlds.
如今最前沿的娛樂是視頻游戲和虛擬現(xiàn)實，而不是電影。一些團隊正努力將氣味帶入虛擬世界。

Its headset uses a system of refillable cartridges, each of which can make thousands of scents.
它的虛擬現(xiàn)實耳機使用一種可補充的墨盒系統(tǒng)，每個墨盒可以產生成數(shù)千種氣味。

Getting smells right could make virtual worlds more compelling. Odours are famously evocative.
對的氣味可以使虛擬世界更具吸引力。眾所周知，氣味引發(fā)聯(lián)想。