The transmission of olfactory information together with audiovisual information is now attracting much attention. However, the information is difficult to synchronize because of problems of scent lingering in the air and olfactory adaptation. We aimed at minimizing the amount of odorant presented to users in order to mitigate these problems, and developed an olfactory display that is able to present scents precisely. The display uses pulse ejection, whereby scents are emitted for only short periods of time. In this study, we aimed to mitigate the above-mentioned problems and to measure the time characteristics of olfaction in a single breath, which are difficult to measure by conventional methods. As a result, the most effective conditions for using a small amount of odorant in a single breath were revealed. These results are expected to ease the synchronization of olfactory and audiovisual information.

Trials on transmitting olfactory information together with audio/visual information are currently being conducted in the field of multimedia. However, continuous emission of scents creates problems of olfactory adaptations and scents lingering in the air. To overcome these problems, we developed an ink-jet olfactory display. This display has high emission control so that it can provide stable pulse emission of scents. Humans detect the scents when they breathe in and inhale scents molecules in the air. Therefore, it is important to synchronize the pulse ejection of scent presentation with the inspiration. With that, by using the pulse ejection of scents, we constructed the pulse ejection pattern what enables instantaneous switch of scents. We first measured the responding time to sense the shift of scents in order to achieve the pulse ejection pattern suited for switching the scents. Then, by using the pattern found in first experiment, we measured the shortest period of scent switching. At last, we measured the limit of switching scents. As a result, we constructed the presenting pattern of scent switching and the limit of scent switching when the scent switching was presented with its shortest period. It is expected that using this developed pattern with movies would raise the realistic sensations.

Trials on the transmission of olfactory information together with audio/visual information are currently underway. However, a problem exists in that continuous emission of scent leaves scent in the air causing human olfactory adaptation. To resolve this problem, we aimed at minimizing the quantity of scent ejected using an ink-jet olfactory display developed. Following the development of a breath sensor for breath synchronization, we next developed an olfactory ejection system to present scent on each inspiration. We then measured human olfactory characteristics in order to determine the most suitable method for presenting scent on an inspiration. Experiments revealed that the intensity of scent perceived by the user was altered by differences in the presentation method even when the quantity of scent was unchanged. We present here a method of odor presentation that most effectively minimizes the ejection quantities.

Research into collaborative mixed reality (MR) or augmented reality has recently been active. Previous studies showed that MR was preferred for collocated collaboration while immersive virtual reality was preferred for remote collaboration. The main reason for this preference is that the physical object in remote space cannot be handled directly. However, MR using tangible objects is still attractive for remote collaborative systems, because MR enables seamless interaction with real objects enhanced by virtual information with the sense of touch. Here we introduce "tangible replicas"(dual objects that have the same shape, size, and surface), and propose a symmetrical model for remote collaborative MR. The result of experiments shows that pointing and drawing functions on the tangible replica work well despite limited shared information.

ARGUS is a prototype system which achieves awareness before starting face-to-face communication by utilizing multiple far-end controllable cameras on a broadband network. A user desiring awareness information can change camera directions and angular fields of view at will in order to get the desired image. We call this active control of cameras to aquire awareness information “active awareness.” Camera locations and viewing fields can be quickly grasped by camera icons on the Map Viewer, which shows the actual office layout. ARGUS has a merit to provide both wide area views and close, detailed views via the control of remote cameras. However, the privacy of people may be violated, for example, through extreme magnificaiton. Therefore, it is very important to carefully consider the camera placement and usage. We have modeled office enviroments and have introduced two camera types: private cameras and public cameras. The aim of the former type is to catch a personal view whereas the aim of the latter type is to monitor common spaces. To protect privacy, ARGUS has several levels of access restrictions for each of these camera types. In this video, we describe the policy and implementation of ARGUS from the viewpoints of user interface and privacy.