The start-up Zestum wants to use its Scentbar to bring smells to life on screen to match what's happening. A Kickstarter campaign is set to fund the first product line. Three scent sets are planned for the launch: nature, racing and action.
The Scentbar is initially designed for use with PCs. However, applications for consoles and TV sets are also expected to come onto the market in the future, meaning that the Scentbar will not be limited to gaming, but will also make films and TV series “smellable”.
The start-up Zestum, which is behind Scentbar, was founded by Salomo Bertram, Samuel Wiebe, Jasmin Blekic and Levin Vonester, who studied at the Technical University of Cologne and the Aachen University of Applied Sciences. The company is supported by the start-up programme Exist and the Gateway of the Technical University of Cologne.
‘We want to make scent as tangible, experiential and usable as visual or auditory stimuli,’ explains founder Salomo Bertram. To this end, the team has developed software that uses artificial intelligence to analyse what is happening on the monitor in real time. ‘Our AI recognises objects and scenarios that can be seen on the screen – such as a forest, a flower meadow or a fire – and classifies them,’ says Bertram. Within less than 500 milliseconds, a signal is sent to the hardware box, which emits the appropriate scent. Since the normal breathing rate is three to four seconds, this creates an authentic scent experience.
Pictures: Thilo Schmülgen/TH Köln
The Scentbar works with pods filled with pellets specially manufactured for Zestum. They consist of a mixture of perfume, oils and essential additives. There will initially be three fragrance categories: nature with forest, rain or grass; racing with petrol, burnt rubber or asphalt; and action with smoke, concrete dust or gunpowder. The range is set to be expanded in the future.
In the long term, Zestum sees further potential in research and development. The aim is to make fragrances dynamically mixable, similar to what is currently possible with RGB colours.
For now, however, the focus is on a Kickstarter campaign that launches tomorrow. The aim is to finance the production of the first series and involve the community in further development.
