Sandeep Jaidka, an inventor, has bagged the US patent for the world's first multimedia invention on virtual reality device for producing relevant smells and sensations

Sandeep Jaidka, an inventor, has bagged the US patent for the world's first multimedia invention on virtual reality device for producing relevant smells and sensations that would enhance the viewing pleasure of a scene being shown on TV or cinema or Internet. The device would enable people viewing an advertisement for a cup of coffee to smell its heady brew, meaning that one can not only relish the appetizing smell of a food but also view it while it is being cooked. The viewer can not only smell the fragrance of flowers and feel the moist earth but also have the sensation of himself/herself taking a walk, while viewing a scene of walking into a wet garden on a TV screen. Jaidka said the invention involves all the senses of a human being including smell and sensation, providing a complete fantasy-like experience and transporting the viewer into a virtual world. Jaidka was helped by the National Research Development Corp. in getting the patent for both the device and the process for producing effects of waterfall, rain, garden, mountains, desert, animals, kitchen and river scenes while viewing a picture or playing amusement games in a cinema hall, open theater and TV. The invention, which uses digitally coded signals to produce a variety of effects, is not specific to either enclosed area nor open space, making its application universal, he said. The invention might have wide applications including hi-fi systems, advertising, Internet, education, food and beverage industry, and medical treatment through aromatherapy. A large number of international groups and institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had been working on the generation and transmission of smells through various media. Jadika had got provisional Indian patent of the device in 1997 and then to get his work internationally recognized, he applied for patent in the US. Jadika also asked the Indian industry to take advantage of the invention and come forward to commercialize it. The development of the prototype of the device and the commercial use will start in a year's time, he said. Since the invention uses digitally encoded signals and the means of transmission is not restricted to any specific physical medium or any mode or method such as terrestrial TV, satellite transmission, Internet or hi-fi systems, the results can be viewed on any screen.