SENSE, 2050
The pandemic has brought with it a new culture of wearing a face mask. That culture may still be alive even in 2050. For this theme, we conceived of a new face mask as a key entertainment item that uses the sense of smell, whereas traditional entertainment focused on vision and hearing. Among the five senses, smell is said to have a direct impact on emotion and memory, and study in this area has advanced considerably in 2050. In this imagined future, smell can be reproduced digitally, and people can share particular scents and enjoy new forms of entertainment.
- Sensorial Entertainment
- What will entertainment be like in 2050, when smell can be enjoyed as part of an entertainment? Our design prototyping explores the concept of a service and tool that can reproduce past scents based on vast amounts of emotion data that have been stored.
Sensorial Entertainment is the name of a service that can reproduce past scents based on vast amounts of emotion data that have been stored. The Scent Mask will deliver a scent smelled on a certain day that you couldn’t recall, evoking a nostalgic feeling for a time past.
Sensorial Entertainment can be used by a restaurant to provide a totally new kind of sensory experience. Under the supervision of a chef, scent components are added to bring back past emotions, allowing you to relive a long-faded memory. By navigating an augmented reality interface displayed on a table in the center, you can access the scent that will take you back to the day you always wanted to revisit.
The Scent Mask is equipped with minute cartridges that contain compressed low-molecular compounds used to reproduce scents. The mask frame, made with metallic artificial muscles and biometal fiber materials, features retinal projection and bone conduction technologies that reproduce scents and memories. The combination of smell, vision, and hearing allows you to relive your memory in a highly evocative way.
- Odd Romance
- Itsuki Tsukui
Is it possible to engage in a romance that is independent of social institutions and even of one’s corporal presence? Satoru, who has been married to his wife Yuki for seven years, frequently goes out on dates with Tsubasa in search of such a romance. There is a particular place they visit on their rendezvous: a virtual restaurant where they wear masks that hide their faces while permitting them to savor the aroma of foods. Science fiction writer Itsuki Tsukui depicts their “odor romance,” which takes place at the restaurant.