In the year 1960, during the screening of Hollywood movie, ‘Scent of Mystery‘, 30 different sorts of fragrances were injected all throughout the movie hall in an effort to appeal to the movie goers’ sensations and make them feel as a part of the movie itself. That was the very first time such an innovative technique was used to enable viewers interact with their surroundings.

Now, 49 years later, one of Japan’s biggest telecommunications firm NTT, has decided to take this simple yet ingenious method to new heights. NTT  has announced that it will be running tests for their revolutionary invention, iAroma. As the name suggests, iAroma will enable users to dispense different kinds of fragrances, though not in a movie hall, but on the web.

As of now NTT is in the process of recruiting volunteers for the tests, according to a press release from the company. These trials are stated to commence from mid-July and should be completed by the end of August. During the trials, all the volunteers will be provided with an ‘iAroma’ device, that would be connected to their computers via a USB cable and will release fragrances as per the instructions put forth by iAroma’s creators, Ryuji Kagami and Kaoru Sasaki.    

iAroma works on computers running Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems, with the help of dedicated drivers that enable this device to connect to the PCs flawlessly. The shell of iAroma consists of six different base oils that fuse and vaporize without the help of any external catalysts, such as water or fire. This creates different sorts of odors and fragrances with the help of pre-defined commands that are transmitted to the device from the computer.

Here is an excerpt from the NTT Press Release:

“NTT Com is actively working on commercial opportunities for its Fragrance Communication service model. Services combining fragrances with Web-distributed content related to astrology, movies, music and background videos have been developed for Internet cafes, hotels, movie theaters and stores. The relaxing and refreshing effects of fragrances combined with other types of media are also being developed and tested in trials. NTT Com launched a commercial service combining digital signage and Fragrance Communication in August 2008.

Via Crunch Gear.