Wearable Scent Technology

But as sentient humans in the modern world, we have grown to underuse our sense of smell, our most evocative and direct sense.

It has been replaced by the dominant audio/visual senses.

People of pre-historic time relied greatly on what we underuse; cognition and imperceptible changes in light, smell, colour, touch and sound that kept them alive.

Their sensory appreciation taught them where there was danger, when it was time to sow and reap, what foods were safe to eat, what diseases they had or when females were ovulating.

Animals still rely on personally discriminating those important changes.

We humans have not lost those faculties but have grown to rely on data presented to us in other ways.

Our ambition is to help modern sentient humans re-feel life through new "scentient" data-driven scent technologies that sense our body/local surroundings in real-time and dispense counter-active evidenced-based aromas, depending on CONTEXT.

We are designing wearable systems that personalize every interaction and deliver highly convenient, personalized scent and "wellness" experiences, faster, better and more affordable than current technologies (the traditional perfume bottle or home air-care device).

Smells have the power to drive behaviour on an instinctive and subconscious level, change physiology, aid sleep, alleviate anxiety, improve cognition and retrieve autobiographical memories.

By "re-inventing" our sensory faculties through advances in scent technology and AI machines that listen, smell, see, understand context and detect underlying health issues, it is possible to "regain" our appreciation and joy of smell. We are designing wearable systems that personalize every interaction and deliver highly convenient, personalized scent and "wellness" experiences, faster, better and more affordable than current technologies (the traditional perfume bottle or home air-care device).

eScent is an early stage proposition founded by Dr Jenny Tillotson (Fashion Communication), Prof Andreas Manz (lab-on-a-chip) and Jonathan Lloyd-Platt (luxury goods, fashion), with granted patents securing an exclusive market position in connected wearables, scent technologies and tech-enabled fabrics.

With connected wearables as one of the key parts of the new value chain of wellness, beautytech and the fashion industries, our first product is eScent, a lifestyle-enhancing brand that bridges fashion and technology with the sense of smell (first published by IET 'MEMS sensors and actuators' in 2006).

eScent is a family of data-driven innovations that one day could replace the relatively crude, unmetered fragrance technology of the twentieth century (the perfume bottle). This platform technology combines sensing and dispensing any "liquid" for multiple healthcare and experiential applications, from perfumes, essential oils, insect repellent, food/flavour replicating liquids, deodorant, hydrating mist, anti-UV/pollution, to other liquids including hormones, pheromones, pharmaceutical, cannabidiol oil and psychedelic medicine.

We are now at the miniaturization phase and product development stage with a range of working prototypes fully demonstrated with sensors and app, although not yet integrated into an eScent product.

eScent is concerned about CONTEXT; it is an emotionally intelligent scent dispenser that can be discreetly integrated into smart "sensory" fabrics, jewellery, apparel and AR/VR. It responds to sensory and emotional cues and consists of connected sensors that uses AI to build a personalised scent profile by learning from the user (published in Psychiatria Danubina 2017 journal, Vol 29, sup 3, page 604-606).

Based on 'Positive Thinking', clinical evidence and published papers that use reasonably good methods to test the impact of aroma on physiology, a change in behaviour, cognition, alertness, mood enhancement, aiding sleep, alleviating anxiety and autobiographical memory retrieval - eScent enables the release of fragrances as a controllable 'scent bubble', merging the power of smell with body positivity and feelings of empowerment. Intelligent wellbeing scents can be bio-synced to a person's emotional, mental, or physical state and in a real-time manner relieves anxiety, stress, exhaustion, insomnia, pain, or memory loss. Alternatively, eScent can dispense fragrances to bring more emotion into "experience-led" fashion whilst also invigorating, refuelling and empowering the user.

eScent and the Research Institute of Fragrance Materials (RIFM) are in dialogue and share the mutual interest in the safety of fragrances in terms of human health and the environment.