Anna R L Carter, Innovation Fellow, Computer and Information Sciences, Northumbria University
This event, part of the EPSRC/NIHR-funded Smell Care Project, gathered over 100 international attendees. It highlighted the often-overlooked importance of smell in daily life, supporting individuals with smell loss through digital training and showcasing technology that enhances smell-related quality of life.
The event began with key project insights, revealing a 74 per cent adherence to daily digital smell training among participants, with some sharing their experiences. Presentations from industry, charity and medical partners offered perspectives and visions for the future of smell care. A panel discussion featured key partners, including Dr Emanuela Maggioni (O’Widgets), Duncan Boak (Fifth Sense), Dr Lauren Evans (Future Care Capital) and medical experts Professor Carl Philpot and Associate Professor Matt Lechner, highlighting collaborative efforts across industry, healthcare and research to address the challenges of smell care. 
To foster networking, an interactive session featured live demonstrations exploring the intersection of technology, clinical practice and citizen science. Highlights of the demo session included:
- New Scent Technologies: OW Smell Made Digital showcased innovations in scent-enhanced multimedia, smart home interfaces, and sleep research.
- Clinical Perspectives: Prof Carl Philpott and Prof Matt Lechner demonstrated ‘Sniffin’ Sticks’ smell tests, showing clinical scent testing methods.
- Crossmodal Interactions: Assoc Prof Oussama Metatla’s team, University of Bristol, presented experiments exploring the connections between scent and other senses.
- Smell Heritage: UCL’s Odeuropa team provided an exploration of historical scents and heritage.
- Scent-Enhanced VR: Dr Christopher Dawes, UCL, showcased a VR experience focused on sustainable textile practices, through the Textiles Circularity Center.
- Levitating Droplets: AcoustoFab, a UCL spin-off, demonstrated contactless scent diffusion using levitating droplets.
- Digital Citizens: Dr Anna Carter, Northumbria University, highlighted citizen-led initiatives in smell care, though the Centre for Digital Citizens and DCitizens.
- Olfactory Art: Dr Andreas Keller, Olfactory Art Keller gallery, New York, presented new scents and collaborations on smell testing.
Professor Nigel Titchener-Hooker, Dean of UCL's Faculty of Engineering Sciences, then discussed the intersection of computer science and multisensory stimulation, particularly smell. Professor Ava Fatah, Bartlett School of Architecture, explored the future of Smell Care and its implications for the built environment and policy-making.
Finally, the team from Tohoku University presented their cross-cultural research collaboration with the Smell Care team, focusing on cultural differences in smell perception, paving the way for future international collaborations.
Overall, this event promoted a ‘smell care’ culture, shared innovative insights, engaged attendees in immersive demonstrations and fostered discussions about the importance of our sense of smell.
