Your screen will smell like tomato... or the body of your churri. This will be the Internet of the senses that awaits us just around the corner

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Smelling and feeling to the touch and even savoring what we see on screen is the next challenge of the internet. Teams around the world are already working on this experience that tries to erase the border between the physical and virtual worlds, and that will have commercial, medical and social applications. The internet of the senses, they explain, will be with us in a decade.

Upon entering the establishment, you notice the fresh air of the air conditioning on your face, while smelling that characteristic aroma that reminds you of where you are. In the t-shirt section, you touch the fabric until you find a light one. Next, you go for some sandals. After trying on several, you decide on some with leather sole, cool to the touch and whose smell you like. When you leave the mall, you return to the heat of a June morning and buy yourself a juice, which you try before. And all this, without leaving home. Thus, experts explain, we will buy, but we will also play and work in the next decade: the barriers between the physical and digital worlds will be blurred in the virtual one thanks to the integration of smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing -the last two already digitized-. That is, we can smell, touch and taste objects that we will see on the screen or through virtual reality glasses.

What is haptic technology

"The truth is that there is already technology of this type, especially in what has to do with touch. It's known as haptic technology, and it emulates the sensations we feel when touching a rough, smooth, hot, cold surface, or when pressure is applied to us." Eduard Martí is CIO and Director of Intelligent Connectivity at Mobile World Capital Barcelona, a foundation that works for the development of a fair and equitable digital society. It was precisely this institution that, during the Mobile World Congress 2023, offered a sensory journey through Barcelona without leaving the Fira where the congress was held, thanks to virtual reality glasses and the recreation of the smells of the city that were activated depending on the location of our avatar.

But returning to haptic technology, Martí points out that "it is popular among gamers, but it is also used in treatments of phobias, arachnids or crowds, for example. There are devices that, placed on the skin and with the accompaniment of images, simulate controlled situations of this type. Or in the treatment of the fear of flying." As Martí explains, touch can be recreated by applying force, vibration, movement or transformable materials.

A jacket that creates physical illusions

A Spanish company is a pioneer worldwide in this field. It is called OWO, is based in Malaga and has patented, among other haptic garments, a jacket that allows you to experience sensations such as free fall, a sting, a punch, stress, and so on up to almost 40 more. The English company VR Electronics has created SenseGlove, a haptic glove that emulates sensations in the hand and makes it possible to feel the texture and sensation of solid objects.

If a large part of these technologies are focused on video games, José Fuertes, CEO of OWO, is clear that they will soon enter commerce and other areas. "Definitely. In fact, Gucci contacted us to find out if we could develop haptic gloves to touch fabrics." An industrial engineer, Fuertes believes that in the future we will live in the metaverse and touch and smell what we see. But also that, at the moment, the previous one is in development. What is in full swing, he clarifies, are video games, a world "where people spend a lot of time and there is a lot of traffic."

This is where clothing brands, for example, want to apply haptic technology. "Today they sell 80% of their production online, but they have trouble reaching young people. The big brands want to be in video games, because that's where you spend the most time. There are several firms that are positioning themselves, and we are working on a new line of garments exclusively associated with video games."

Living in the metaverse and smelling feet (for example) in the metaverse

Haptic gloves like those of SenseGlobe will allow us to make a puzzle with a friend through our respective avatars in a shared room in the metaverse, feeling between our fingers the touch of the pieces and even their weight. This feeling of sharing experience and physical space will be increased by perceiving the same smell. Although this type of technology is totally incipient, the first steps are already being taken.

Vermont-based OVR Technology has designed a head-mounted device with a cartridge containing eight primary scents that can be combined to create thousands of different odors, and can be activated autonomously by location in the metaverse. The product is called ION and connects via bluetooth to the smartphone, PC or virtual reality glasses. In addition, it includes an extension to create digital scents from scratch and combine them with video or audio. Could we, thus, recreate the smell of a loved one and that it was activated by sharing space with her in a virtual world, or by remembering her or seeing photos of her?

José Fuertes agrees that this technology is in its infancy, but also thinks that companies such as the Spanish Puig "have made a very good first approach". Specifically, it refers to the company's collaboration with Mobile World Capital during the last MWC23. "It was a route through the smells of Barcelona from the metaverse, during which you could smell different places in the city, such as Barceloneta or Camp Nou." With the stimulation of smell, he explains, there is a problem, and that is that when a very strong concentration of an odor is aspirated, the pituitary is blocked. But Puig has developed a mechanism to avoid it, "he clarifies.

Flavors created with electricity

Scientists no longer wonder if tasting a tomato or feeling a hug will be possible on the Internet, but when: while the latter is already technically possible thanks to haptic technology, reproducing flavors in the mouth by electrical stimuli instead of chemical ones – that is, with food – is also possible, although in a way, still, very limited. Several research centers around the world are working on this: the Imagineering Institute in Malaysia has created an electric flavor machine that produces taste sensations on the surface of the tongue without the need for any chemicals. Meanwhile, at the University of Tokyo, researcher Kazuma Aoyama studies galvanic taste simulation (GTS) for virtual and augmented reality, and also to assist in treatments with dietary restrictions. "Being able to feel in the metaverse will make it possible for people who have some kind of impediment to do certain things to do them." For that alone, Fuertes adds, it's worth it. Although a physical hug never runs out of battery.

• Internet