Digital Smell Technology Innovation in the Laundry Sector
Digital Smell Technology is undoubtedly an innovation in the laundry sector. We've always seen that innovation in technology has boosted sales in any sector of the industry and helped establish the brands. Being from the laundry industry, I always thought of having some innovation in the manufacturing of laundry equipment.
Existing Technology in Laundry Washing Machines:
There is already a
sensor inbuilt in the equipment to weigh the laundry load and accordingly
adjust the water and electricity consumption which also adjusts the wash and
dry cycles accordingly.
The clothes are
pre-treated according to the stains, which we call spotting. The load
is washed in a washer, according to the fabric as programmed.
We have an inbuilt temperature sensor; we can control the washing cycle on the monitor as required. The laundry load carries soiled garments, there can be oil stains, grease, tea, coffee, vegetable (food stains), sweat stains, and many more.
Innovative Thought:
Then it came into my
mind, as of now it is not possible for the laundry machines to be fitted with
the sensors smelling the contaminated laundry and automatically adjust the
washing process, then I started researching on this topic, through the internet
and acquired the following details.
We all know that we
have five senses, we can see, we can hear, we can touch, we can smell, and we
can taste. but out of this, only three of them have been commercially used,
maybe with a combination into one product. Now, this is something that from
very early on, people have been trying to mimic with technical devices, which
would do a similar job, as we have dramatically sensitive optical sensors, we
have very sensitive microphones.
We know that optical
sensors are used to keep the count in the production line. Chirping sounds of
the birds, sounds of different animals can be produced using the digital
signals in the electric harmonica. Bio-metrics is used in the corporate sectors.
But when it comes to smell and taste there is nearly nothing done on the technical grounds that we can do. Now, why is that so? First, let us discuss what is smelling and how we smell and taste.
Process of Smelling and taste:
Smell and taste are called chemical senses, because they detect chemicals in the environment. Smell works at a larger distance compared to the taste. Small vaporized odor molecules in the gas phase that reach our nostril, where olfactory receptor neurons detects the odor. These neurons are capable of detecting thousands of different odors. These neurons transmit this information to an olfactory bulb located at the back of the nose which is received at the brain centers which perceive odors and access memories to remind us about the events associated with these olfactory sensations.
Invention:
After reading more on this topic, I found
that some of the companies like Aroma Bit have come with a compact smell sensor
module. It is basically a high precision sensor element that can detect the
mass of the molecule and on the top of it is fitted with a membrane, that
functions as a receptor of the nose. This part is connected to your PCB(Printed
Circuit Board). I do not want to go into the deep technicality of it. When the
air is blown on the sensors, the molecules hit the surface of the sensors. It
changes the frequency based on the mass change. These sensors mimic exactly
what the nose does. It is believed that in humans there are 400 different
receptors.
The technology is
mature enough and the sensor has to be a very sensitive part. it has to be on
the edge and it will be fitted inside behind the grille. To use in water,
waterproofing can be done by using a known technology that is available like
nano-coating or even gore-tex type can be done. It is a synthetic waterproof fabric permeable to air and
water vapor.
Applications:
In the laundry, if it is developed it
can be used to smell the contamination of the clothes and the machines can be
programmed accordingly to use the detergents automatically.
This can give better results of the washed clothes and even the laymen operator can operate the laundry equipment. It can save time and eliminate errors while selecting the programs on the monitor.
Let’s have a brief understanding of digital smell technology
What is Digital Smell Technology?
It is an emerging trend. Technology where odor is sensed and transmitted through digital media. Until now digital communication involved only two senses, a sense of hearing and a sense of sight. It is the third sense of smell using e-nose. With the help of this digital sense technology it will be possible to sense, transmit and receive the smell electronically through the internet.
How does DST Work?
It works by continuously feeding odors from vaporizing gel pellets onto the four different corners of the screen.
Hardware Devices used:
Smell Synthesizer:
It is a device used
to generate the smell.
iSmell:
The ismell device reads digital scent files.
Application of Digital Smell technology:
Over to Theaters
Over the Televisions
Sending scented
emails
Playing scented video
games
Sample a scented
product from a beauty product website.
In the near future this technology will create a revolution in the laundry and communication sector.
