How Our Noses Might Be Used as a Way of Communication in the Future

All of our scents and smells provide us with the single clues we give ourselves such as the environments we are in, the things we taste, the plants we smell etc. As human beings, we have massively underestimated this wealth of knowledge that the human body possesses and openly gives us thousands of times a day. In 2021 this is said to be changing, with an emphasis on smell. It will be used as data to increase the sensitivity of products to users engagement. 

Communication based on smell, has been noted for some time though never really focussed upon in terms of real action. The belief is that in 2021 we will have much more sophisticated ways of encoding, recording and reporting olfactory signals. olfactory signals will then be added to search engines, voice search queries and integrated with multimedia information for sales marketing and public relations.

There are already companies out there creating and developing smell simulation, voice-activated scents and odours which can be tailored to customer needs. sounds a bit like a really high tech plug-in air freshener doesn’t it 😀 but it is essentially just advancing this kind of technology to be more digital. 

The use of smell for detecting unique and specific aromas is something in which can be learnt and taught as part of progressive education. In addition to this, it will open up a whole new sector which could create new apprenticeship schemes which would be aimed towards changing the perceptions of the teachers and the talent itself with regards to the importance of smell from an educational perspective. Educational scratch and sniff cards could be used as a means of teaching different scents and to facilitate memory retrieval and reading and comprehension. 

When we think about the structures of the human brain which are common to odour and the way in which we process our emotions, known as the amygdala and the hippocampus, these were identified over a decade ago. However, the connection between moods and olfaction has been well misunderstood and underrated not looked into enough, to be able to medically practise it efficiently. In Japan, they have been running specific tests such as an intravenous injection of Alinamin, a garlic-like odour sensation and is used as part of subjective olfactory tests. 

This now more than ever, with the current ongoing pandemic, the increased used of antiseptics with Covid-19 patients is will decrease natural olfactory sensitivity or in simple terms, we become ”nose blind” which raises the risk of behaviour and mood disorders. Olfactory data will be placed into new interfaces which will be enhanced for monitoring routine tasks. Online and in-store experiences, will be replaced by a VR experience to deliver immersive multi-sensory experiences. These experiences can be customised to the consumer’s needs for example the scent of natural woods and pines for those who would like to add a familiar sense of realism to their experience. 

When it comes to retailers, the customer is always king and thus the retailers will always invest in new and innovative ways to impress and satisfy their customer and have a relentless emphasis on customer experience. For example, those retailers who invest in web development to implement an olfactory strategy will increase their sales. Given that many natural scents are decreasing, availability issues will become apparent and expected.

Essential oils such jasmine and sandalwood are currently unable to be synthetically produced but at the same time, I suppose many will also ask the question why would you want to synthetically produce an aroma that already occurs naturally and the answer is simply the decline in natural occurring odours. In addition to this, we must discuss new legislation that will protect these natural occurring aromas from disappearing altogether and therefore synthetically produced aromas being heavily relied upon. A key contributor to the degradation of natural smells is the fragrance market. 

2021 will be a rough year for the natural fragrance market with many producers now facing barriers to entry thanks to the regulation of the market. while 2020 was about automating and optimising olfactory technology 2021 will be transformative of the introduction of olfactory development. New interfaces will become the new norm in all areas of retail and communication with the potential of shifting away from touchscreens in the future.