Virtual reality system with scents for emergency trainings

Safety First! - Is the motto of the "StressScent III" project, in which researchers from Fraunhofer EMFT, in collaboration with the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, have developed a Virtual Reality System (VR System) which uses realistic and immersive training to better prepare rescue and emergency personnel for sometimes dangerous missions and stressful situations and thus contribute to a safer working life. Through realistic training engaging all senses, real-world situations can be simulated more accurately, thus contributing to a safer work life. The goal of the project is to develop a scent dosing system adapted to an existing VR headset for practical application.

As all senses are to be addressed in this training to better simulate real situations, the researchers have developed their own scent dosing system specifically for this purpose. For practical application, the scent dosing system was adapted by the researchers to an existing VR headset and can be controlled directly and automatically from the VR scenario. Scent dosing is realized using Fraunhofer EMFT's microdosing technology. This consists of four piezoelectrically driven steel micropumps, each with a connected fragrance reservoir. This enables fragrance scenarios in which up to four fragrances can currently be dosed for one breath. The fragrance reservoirs and micropumps are mounted on the VR goggles. The fragrance is guided close to the nose with a tube and should ideally transport and release different scents per breath.

Both the dosing volume and the scent intensity and duration can be adjusted individually and directly from a VR environment so that the amount of scent can only be smelled once by a person. After one breathing cycle, the concentration falls below the detection limit of the nose and disappears. The future aim is to combine more than four scents in a miniaturized system in order to offer one scent or mixed scents from several micropumps simultaneously for one breath. The implementation of these functions would be conceivable in the future with the world's smallest micropump. The silicon model of this micromembrane pump measures just 3.5 x 3.5 x 0.6 mm³.

The main area of application of the “StressScent II” research project is the training of medical emergency care personnel in a civilian environment using a serious game. This is a development of the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich (Prof. Dr. Marko Hofmann) and is now being supplemented by an olfactory perception for almost complete immersion in a stressful situation and examined with regard to the experience of stress (Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Renner).

Funding and funding identification:

The dtec.bw Smart Health Lab (SHL) at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich conducts basic research on the medical and psychological mechanisms as well as application research on the effectiveness of Smart Health technologies in training and the prevention of mental disorders in emergency personnel in civilian and military contexts. The "StressScent III" project, in the context of the SHL, combines the expertise of stress research, fragrance research, virtual realities, and sensor technology with the aim of using scents in VR and researching their effect on people. 

The dtec.bw Smart Health Lab is funded by the dtec.bw Center for Digitization and Technology Research of the Bundeswehr. dtec.bw is financed by the European Union's NextGenerationEU program.

Homepage of the SHL: https://www.unibw.de/shl