“If you ask me, the application of smell should at least put a smile on people’s faces, just like the thought of a smelly robot.”
Elsbeth wrote the essay “Imagining the power of a smelly robot” (2023) during her master’s programme, inspired by a Meet the Makers session hosted by Utrecht University. In this session, the interdisciplinary Dutch collective Polymorf was invited to discuss their award-winning installation Symbiosis (2022). Symbiosis is a VR installation offering a multi-user experience, where, by redesigning the human body, a non-human reality is created for participants. This non-human reality is brought to life not only through VR but also by using smell, taste, and soft robots that move, inflate, and reshape the participant’s body.
Inspired by this session, Elsbeth wrote this essay to explore the potential applications of smell in robotics and the ethical questions that arise with it.
The essay was published on Utrecht University’s Transmission in Motion-site website.
Symbiosis, 2022. (Photo: Luciano Pinna)
Symbiosis, 2022. (Design: Luciano Pinna, Frank Bosma and Wijnand van Tol)
