Indian-origin researcher develops soap bubbles that deliver information

Zee Media Bureau

Bristol: Researchers led by an Indian-origin scientist have created a multi-sensory technology called SensaBubble that creates soap bubbles, which can have images projected onto them or release a scent when they are burst. SensaBubble, developed by the research team led by Professor Sriram Subramanian from the University of Bristol can also be used to control the route of bubbles or tracks their location. The technology can create bubbles with a specified size and frequency or fill them with an opaque fog that is optionally scented. According to the researchers, SensaBubble is a chrono-sensory mid-air display system that generates scented bubbles to deliver information to people using different senses. The visual displayed on the bubble lasts until it bursts, but the scent released upon the bursting of the bubble slowly disperses leaving a longer-lasting noticeable trace. “The human sense of smell is powerful, but there are few research systems that explore and examine ways to use it. We have taken the first steps to explore how smell can be used to enhance and last longer in a visual object such as a soap bubble,” said Subramanian, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the University`s Bristol Interaction and Graphics group. He said that there are many areas in which bubble-based technology like SensaBubble could be applied. Such as a SensaBubble clock that releases the number of scented bubbles corresponding to the hour or SensaBubble Maths, an educational game for children, which incorporates smell as feedback on their success. The research paper will be presented at ACM CHI 2014 conference on human-computer interfaces. The conference that begins on April 26 and concludes on May 1,will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada. With Agency Inputs