OVR Technology has launched its Kickstarter campaign for the Omara Scent Display, a compact device designed to bring programmable scent to virtual reality and immersive applications.
A key part of the underlying technology comes from memetis, a microvalve specialist based in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Digital experiences have become increasingly immersive through high-resolution visuals, spatial audio, haptics and VR. One sense, however, has remained largely absent from interactive media: smell. Omara addresses this missing layer by enabling scents to be triggered in real time and synchronised with digital events.
The device features 16 individually controllable scent channels in a replaceable cassette. According to OVR, each cassette provides more than 3,000 scent bursts per channel and supports over 60 hours of scent-enabled gaming. With a response time of under 500 milliseconds, scents can be triggered in sync with player actions and changing scenes.
Omara releases very small amounts of scent close to the user's nose. This creates a clearly perceptible scent impression that typically fades within 2–3 seconds after each cue, instead of lingering in the room for minutes. This makes fast transitions between environments, actions and emotional moments possible, a critical requirement for interactive media.
For developers, OVR provides Unity and Unreal Engine plug-ins. The scent integration process is designed to be similar to programming sound events, allowing developers to connect scent cues directly to player interactions.