OhRoma, the VR mask that reproduces aphrodisiac scents. Photo

A startup has created OhRoma a kind of gas mask that reproduces over 30 aphrodisiac scents, it was in fact designed to accompany adult content

This virtual reality stinks. No, it's not a criticism leveled against VR enthusiasts but the latest tech stunt called OhRoma. This is yet another attempt to integrate smells and scents with devices dedicated to entertainment, but this time the idea comes directly from the porn industry.

A "gas" mask for VR.

The device looks like a gas mask, but it is a tool that can reproduce scents and odors to be used in conjunction with a smartphone and a virtual reality viewer. The company claims to have thought of this idea to increase user participation in adult content. OhRoma has thought of everything, there are, in fact, over 30 aphrodisiac scents available. As you can read on the company's website, these are foods, flowers, body odors, perfumes and even underwear. To try OhRoma you have to pre-order it for just under $100, and each perfume refill costs between six and nine dollars.

Entertainment and Scents

OhRoma's is just the latest chronological attempt in the entertainment industry, and not just for adults, to integrate viewing with smells and scents. Already at the beginning of the 1900s, the first owners of theaters and then of cinemas, tried to spray perfume in the halls at certain moments of the playback. However, this attempt was always rejected by consumers. More recently there have been similar attempts with Smell-O-Vision and AromaRama, but people don't like getting a spray of perfume in their face while watching a movie. In 2001, a startup burned through over $20 million in funding to create a device, called iSmell. This connected to the PC and would emit scents under our indication or based on what we would relate to on the Web. The perfume suitable for web browsing was, however, a total failure. A flop so big that it was included in the list of the worst technological products ever. Will OhRoma succeed where so many others have failed? The task is a tough one.