It's a great idea!

I have always had a fascination for and admiration of human ingenuity.  From the start of our lives we inherit and benefit from the innovative achievements of those around us and all the generations that preceded us.  Medicine, motor cars, aeroplanes, computers, clothing, food supplies, electricity, gas, solar panels, roads, bridges, monetary systems, televisions, radios,........ - the list goes on and on - are all the result of human ingenuity, intellectual and physical endeavours.  As an engineer, my appreciation of mankind's achievements extends beyond WHAT a product can do for me, to HOW it works.  In fact, I find it difficult to accept the benefits of my man-made surroundings without understanding the workings of the component parts.  As an example, I know many people are quite content to drive their cars without a basic understanding of the internal combustion engine, but that doesn't work for me.  I need to know how it works, its capabilities and limitations.  Now to some readers, my behaviour might seem a bit whacky or even obsessional but I can assure you that when I am in the company of practising engineers (I no longer practise) my inquiring mind, compared with others, seems quite pedestrian.

There are pros and cons of having an inquiring mind.  The main advantage is that when things go wrong, and you understand why they have gone wrong, then you might be able to fix them.  The downside is that it is very easy to become obsessed with the HOW rather than enjoying the WHAT.  So for example, I check the quality and speed of my Internet connection regularly and if the speed reduces significantly, it concerns me and prompts a call to my Internet service provider, even if it is not really unduly affecting my use of the Internet.  But another problem with focussing too much on the HOW rather than the WHAT, is that it can constrain 'blue sky' thinking.  Here's a very recent example.  Yesterday, whilst enjoying breakfast with my wife, we were were discussing some of the topics we wished to raise with a friend who we would be talking to on FaceTime later that morning.  FaceTime calls allow us to have iPad-to-iPad video and audio communications.  It's Apple's answer to Skype.  We call our friend once a week and he updates us on his news from England, whilst we respond with our news from Turkey.  It's informative and a very enjoyable way to spend about an hour each week.  My mind wandered and whilst I was marvelling at what technology was allowing us to do, even though we tend to take it for granted, I mused at what might be possible in the future.  Our virtual meeting only uses two of the five senses - sight (with two-dimensional rather that three-dimensional images) and hearing.  There is no transmission and reception of the remaining three senses - taste, touch and smell.  Now we all know three-dimensional imaging is now possible, but what about taste, touch and smell?  I am not sure that taste and touch could enhance a FaceTime call, so my mind wandered into the area of smell.  My wife sensed that my cogs were ticking and I shared my idea of enhancing video/audio calls with smell, explaining that whilst we might not necessarily want to smell our friend 😄 , topics such as cooking, perfumery, etc, could benefit from the transmission and reception of smell.  It's a great idea!

After breakfast, I decided some Internet research was required.  I Googled SMELL ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION and then followed 'Digital scent technology' on Wikipedia.  Lo and behold the concept is not new.  In fact Hans Laube invented Smell-O-Vision, a system that released odour during the projection of a film, in the 1950s.  There are now many companies working on the technology and a group of Japanese researchers believe a 3D television with touch and smell will be commercially available by 2020.  So my great idea is by no means novel!  Now because my mind is focussed on the HOW and in this case, the HOW is well on the way to being achieved, I lost my enthusiasm to continue my thought process.  Whereas perhaps I should have parked that particular issue and mused on WHAT might be achievable by, for example, creating a totally inclusive and integrated virtual communication environment.  An environment where there really is no difference between real and virtual, i.e. the geographic divide between families, friends, colleagues, politicians........, disappears.  That's WHAT we want.  It's a great idea!  But don't ask me HOW! 😄