Augmented Eating Experiences Using Olfactory Technology : A Comparison of Different Odor Delivery Methods
Gyamfi, Amos (2023)
Gyamfi, Amos
2023
Master's Programme in Human-Technology Interaction
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-12-11
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2023120510478
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2023120510478
Tiivistelmä
Olfaction, as one of the human senses, provides unique ways to enhance the way we interact with digital interfaces. While the primary mode of using digital experiences focuses mainly on visual, auditory, and tactile senses, olfactory technology provides several ways to improve healthcare, augmented reality, virtual reality, entertainment, and many more. This thesis used an olfactory display prototype to evaluate different scent delivery or presentation methods that were mask, neck, and table.
The experimental setting was tested with eight participants in a laboratory setting. In the experimental setup, an airflow without odor and another containing odorized air at constant duration and flow rate were transferred to the participants' noses. The aim was to evaluate the intensity, pleasantness, and naturalness of the scent presentation methods while the participants drank a smoothie drink. The evaluation involved the eight rating scales: scent strongness, scent sweetness, drink taste likeness, overall taste strongness, presentation pleasantness, presentation naturalness, overall drinking pleasantness, and overall drinking naturalness.
The results from this study provided valuable participants' insights into the perception of scents in the different aroma presentations and their impact on eating and drinking experiences. The participants rated the neck presentation method to provide the highest scent sweetness. Most of the participants liked the mask condition in terms of likeness of the taste. The table and mask methods emerged as the presentations with the highest pleasantness. The most natural way of eating and drinking was the neck method. The findings above mean that scent delivery technology researchers and developers should take factors such as pleasantness, naturalness, likeness, and familiarity into consideration when designing olfactory devices.
The experimental setting was tested with eight participants in a laboratory setting. In the experimental setup, an airflow without odor and another containing odorized air at constant duration and flow rate were transferred to the participants' noses. The aim was to evaluate the intensity, pleasantness, and naturalness of the scent presentation methods while the participants drank a smoothie drink. The evaluation involved the eight rating scales: scent strongness, scent sweetness, drink taste likeness, overall taste strongness, presentation pleasantness, presentation naturalness, overall drinking pleasantness, and overall drinking naturalness.
The results from this study provided valuable participants' insights into the perception of scents in the different aroma presentations and their impact on eating and drinking experiences. The participants rated the neck presentation method to provide the highest scent sweetness. Most of the participants liked the mask condition in terms of likeness of the taste. The table and mask methods emerged as the presentations with the highest pleasantness. The most natural way of eating and drinking was the neck method. The findings above mean that scent delivery technology researchers and developers should take factors such as pleasantness, naturalness, likeness, and familiarity into consideration when designing olfactory devices.