文章來(lái)源：《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》May 13th 2023 期 Science & technology 欄目 Smell-O-Vision?2.0

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It was?one of those many inventions that never quite took off.?In 1960, audiences watching the film “Scent of Mystery” got to experience the wonders of “Smell-O-Vision”.?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.?Those in the balcony complained that the smells reached them too late. Others found the scents to be too?faint, or else irritatingly persistent.?More novel than effective, Smell-O-Vision never really took root in Hollywood.

它是眾多從未真正騰飛的發(fā)明之一。1960年，看《神秘的氣味》電影的觀眾體驗(yàn)到了 "嗅覺(jué)視覺(jué) "的神奇。該系統(tǒng)安裝在電影院的座位下方，在關(guān)鍵劇情處散發(fā)出30種不同的氣--從海風(fēng)的咸咸味道到縷縷葡萄酒香。該系統(tǒng)有獨(dú)特之處。但樓座上的觀眾抱怨說(shuō)氣味傳到他們身邊太晚。其他觀眾要么覺(jué)得這些氣味太微弱，要么覺(jué)得氣味太濃太久。嗅覺(jué)視覺(jué)效果平平，只是形式新穎，因此從未在好萊塢真正扎根。

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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.?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”.?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.

如今最前沿的娛樂(lè)是視頻游戲和虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)，而不是電影。一些團(tuán)隊(duì)正努力將氣味帶入虛擬世界。本周發(fā)表在《自然通訊》上的一篇論文中，香港城市大學(xué)的于欣格和北京航空航天大學(xué)的李宇航描述了兩種可穿戴的“嗅覺(jué)接口”。第一種是石膏大小，像假胡子一樣貼在用戶(hù)鼻子下方的皮膚上。第二種是能力更強(qiáng)的靈活面罩。

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Both rely on heating tiny?tiles?of?paraffin?wax that have been impregnated with various liquid perfumes.?The smaller version of the system uses two such tiles; the bigger one has nine.?The researchers claim that they can generate a scent, such as mint or green tea, in as little as 1.44 seconds.?The nine generators on the mask can combine to produce hundreds of possible odours.

兩者都依賴(lài)于加熱浸有各種液體香水的小石蠟。小版本（假胡子）使用兩塊石蠟；大版本（面罩）有九塊。研究人員說(shuō)，它們可以在短短1.44秒內(nèi)產(chǎn)生一種氣味，如薄荷味或綠茶味。面罩上的九個(gè)發(fā)生器可以結(jié)合起來(lái)，產(chǎn)生數(shù)百種氣味。

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Drs Li and Yu have been beaten to market by OVR, a startup based in Vermont.?Its headset uses a system of refillable?cartridges, each of which can make thousands of scents.?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.

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。它的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)耳機(jī)使用一種可補(bǔ)充的墨盒系統(tǒng)，每個(gè)墨盒可以產(chǎn)生成數(shù)千種氣味。該公司的最新產(chǎn)品 "ION3 "將于今年晚些時(shí)候發(fā)布，并且可以毫不費(fèi)力地與現(xiàn)有的游戲制作工具結(jié)合起來(lái)。

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Getting smells right could make virtual worlds more compelling.?Odours?are famously evocative.?The part of the brain that processes them connects directly to parts associated with emotions and memory.?But the science is tricky.Unlike colour or sound, where wavelengths and frequencies combine in predictable ways, smell is not so straightforward.?Altering a single chemical bond can shift a scent from sweet to?rancid.?Whether smelly VR will do better than smelly films remains to be seen.?But perhaps one day users will be able to stop, swipe and smell the virtual roses.

對(duì)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。大腦中處理氣味的部分直接與情感和記憶有關(guān)的部分相連。但科學(xué)很棘手。與顏色或聲音不同，色彩波長(zhǎng)和聲音頻率以可預(yù)測(cè)的方式結(jié)合在一起，而氣味則沒(méi)那么簡(jiǎn)單。改變單個(gè)化學(xué)鍵就可以將氣味從甜味轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)楦粑?。嗅覺(jué)VR是否會(huì)比嗅覺(jué)電影做得更好，尚無(wú)定論。但也許有一天，用戶(hù)停下來(lái)刷一下設(shè)備就能聞到虛擬世界的玫瑰花香。