A New Way to Translate Images Into Scent
Researchers at the MIT Media Lab have developed a prototype device that uses generative artificial intelligence to transform photographs into custom-made fragrances. The machine, known as the Anemoia Device, is designed to interpret visual memories and distill them into scent compositions, offering a new sensory way to engage with personal and inherited images.
The device is structured vertically and operates through a simple but layered process. Users place an analogue photograph into the top section, where the image is scanned. An AI system in the central unit analyzes the visual content and translates it into descriptive elements. At the base of the device, a series of pumps connected to fragrance reservoirs blend a scent based on the AI interpretation and the user’s selections.
The system is built around the idea of distillation, taking a complex and emotionally layered memory object and compressing it into a sensory output. The goal is not just to recreate what is visible in a photograph, but to extract its atmosphere and emotional tone in the form of smell.
Exploring Nostalgia for Moments Never Lived
The project focuses on a specific type of nostalgia known as anemoia, which describes longing for a time or place never personally experienced. While the device can be used with familiar personal images, it is particularly suited to photographs inherited from family archives or cultural history.
Images such as childhood photographs from earlier generations, old family recipes, or archival scenes become starting points for exploration. By framing the experience through anemoia, the system encourages users to move beyond straightforward memory recall and into more abstract emotional territory. The device becomes a tool not only for remembering, but for imagining connections to the past.
The AI uses a vision language model to interpret what is visible in the photograph. This interpretation is intentionally flexible, allowing room for user input rather than enforcing a fixed meaning. The process is designed to balance shared cultural associations with individual emotional interpretation.
User Guided Scent Creation Through Interaction
After the photograph is analyzed, users refine the outcome through three physical dials. The first dial allows the user to select a point of view within the image. This perspective can be a person, such as someone depicted in the photo, or a non-living object like a bicycle, tree, or piece of furniture.
If the chosen subject is a person, the user can define their stage of life, such as childhood or old age. If the subject is an object, the user can place it within a lifecycle state ranging from raw to in use or decay. The final dial assigns an emotional tone to the scent by selecting from a range of emotion descriptors.
These inputs guide the AI in shaping the fragrance composition. During testing, participants used the system to create highly specific scent outcomes. In one case, a photograph of a couple eating fruit in a garden was translated into a fragrance with notes associated with spiced fruit and earthy elements, evoking a seasonal and calm atmosphere.
The system relies on a scent library of 50 base fragrances, including materials such as sandalwood, pine forest, leather, old books, and sand. Each scent is released in brief increments, allowing the device to generate a wide range of combinations based on the selected prompts.
Making Memories More Tangible Through Technology
The Anemoia Device is part of a broader effort to make memories more physically present rather than confined to digital storage. In modern life, photographs and personal histories are often stored on servers and accessed through screens. This project explores how computing can reconnect people with their senses and encourage slower, more reflective engagement.
The design embraces the contradiction of using advanced technology to foster sensory awareness and emotional presence. Rather than functioning as an attention-driven interface, the device is intended to prompt pause and reflection.
Future development paths include a compact desktop version that could allow individuals to create scent memories at home, as well as an online service where users could submit photographs remotely for scent generation. Both directions aim to extend access while preserving the contemplative nature of the experience.
By combining artificial intelligence, physical interaction, and scent design, the Anemoia Device suggests a new form of human computer interaction. It reframes memory as something that can be felt and inhaled, not just seen, offering a glimpse into how future technologies might engage the senses in more meaningful ways.
