Abstract
To increase the ubiquity and merging of Olfactory Interfaces (OIs) into daily scenarios seamlessly and aesthetically, we propose OlfacKit, a fully integrated pipeline, which consists of (1) an interactive design tool that enables novice users to quickly model the physical forms of OIs and automatically generate fabrication-ready designs; (2) a construction workflow with a series of assembly kits and a video tutorial; (3) a WebUI for rapidly testing and prototyping smell control through Wi-Fi communication. We tested the atomization performance with different voltages and aroma liquids and further guided the implementation of the WebUI. Six applications have been explored, showing the flexibility and scalability of our toolkit. We conducted a workshop to evaluate the feasibility and usability of OlfacKit, involving 15 participants who proposed 108 creative ideas and implemented 13 working prototypes. We reported the detailed findings and discussed the insights and implications for future design.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
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Notes on contributors
Yanan Wang
Yanan Wang is currently a Lecturer at the College of Fashion and Design of Donghua University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Digital Art and design from Zhejiang University. She focuses her research on human-interaction design, olfactory interfaces, and digital fabrication.
Zhitong Cui
Zhitong Cui is a Ph.D. Candidate at Zhejiang University. As an HCI researcher with a computer science background, his research area is computational design and fabrication. He keeps exploring computational techniques and domain-specific knowledge for novel ways of 3D modeling while reducing expertise and design effort.
Hebo Gong
Hebo Gong is a Ph.D. student in the college of computer science and technology at Zhejiang University. Currently, his research is mainly focused on 3D-printed circuits based on computer-aided design. His research interests also lie in the field of HCI and intelligent product design.
Ting Chen
Ting Chen is a postgraduate student in the design science program at Zhejiang University. His research encompasses computer graphics, computer-aided design, and computational design and fabrication. He has experience in developing VR and AR applications, focusing on their social attributes and user interaction behavior.