Ohio State prototype Scentronic delivers five food odors remotely; users identified single scents 73% of the time

Researchers at The Ohio State University (Columbus) have developed Scentronic, a prototype olfactory interface for remote odor sensing and stimulation. The system pairs an e-nose that detects and analyzes odors with a wearable piezoelectric release device. The study was published in Science Advances on 21 October 2026. doi.orgScience Advancesdoi.orgOpen source ↗

The authors note that odor signals are hard to capture, transmit and reproduce, and that standardized, network-enabled platforms are lacking. Most human-machine interfaces rely on touch, audio and visual cues rather than smell. Scentronic integrates devices, circuit architecture and software algorithms, and the data are classified in real time. doi.orgScience Advancesdoi.orgOpen source ↗

Test results with five food scents

The system was trained on five food scents: coffee, beer, red wine, orange and chocolate cake. In field testing, participants identified individual odors about 73% of the time and paired odors about 71% of the time. doi.orgScience Advancesdoi.orgOpen source ↗

Sensitivity varied between people. According to Jinghua Li, senior author and assistant professor of materials science and engineering, some participants were more sensitive to certain odorants than others. Even for easily distinguished scents, the perceived intensity differed among individuals.

The team made several versions of the wearable unit. One is a wristband that the user lifts to the nose. Another is a necklace in which five odor channels are arranged like pearls on a string and open only after a signal is received. doi.orgScience Advancesdoi.orgOpen source ↗

Taste interfaces and medical use

The authors also combined the olfactory device with gustatory interfaces. They report that this demonstrates the feasibility of programmable, low-cost odor delivery for multisensory experiences. doi.orgScience Advancesdoi.orgOpen source ↗

For medical contexts, the paper describes psychophysical testing to study olfactory pathways and evaluate sensory loss. Li noted that loss of smell is associated with many neurological diseases and infections. She said such devices could in future reduce the need for frequent clinic visits and enable personalized care.

The next steps are to test other ways of building the devices into everyday accessories, including watches and other smart jewelry. The device remains a prototype. Co-authors include researchers from Ohio State and Chen Wang from Zhejiang Laboratory in China.