Improvement of Olfactory Display Using Electroosmotic Pumps and a SAW Device for VR Application

Previously, air blowing or heating techniques has been used for presentation of the scents. As a consequence, the scents of lowvolatile substances are difficult to be released at an acceptable speed. Also, the effect from heat to the nearby environment cannot be avoided. In this research, we proposed an olfactory display using miniaturized electroosmotic pumps and a surface acoustic wave device utilizing SAW atomization technique. In this manner, the olfactory display is miniature in size, works soundlessly, and is able to produce even the scents of low-volatile substances without heat radiation to the adjacent environment. In addition, we optimized the experimental parameters to solve the problem of reproducibility when the number of odor components increase. As a result, by using an odor sensing system we could confirm that the developed device possesses ability to control odor intensity and to blend multiple of odor components. Owing to these benefits it can be expected to be utilized in a variety of virtual reality applications.