Smell Above All: Envisioning Smell-Centred Future Worlds

Take a deep breath; what do you smell? While sight and hearing dominate our perceptions, the sense of smell is often overlooked, even undervalued. However, the importance of our sense of smell goes beyond detecting odours. It shapes our emotions, memories, behaviour, and quality of life. Recent advances in olfactory interfaces have sparked discussions about the future of smell in human-computer interaction. While efforts mainly focus on the realization of new olfactory interfaces, here we collectively explore alternative worlds centred around the sense of smell. First, we conducted a design futuring workshop involving individuals with varying smell capabilities and expertise to envision and discuss smell-centred futures. Then, through iterative reflection, we arrived at three smell worlds presented as narratives and visuals. From this conceptual work, we offer new perspectives and generative possibilities for design research that prioritizes our noses.