UK Military Investigating Smelly Games

You know who likes the smell of victory in the morning? The British Army, that’s who – and now the Ministry Of Defence is pumping research pounds into creating a Virtual Battlefield complete with Virtual Smells so soldiers can sample that smell – alongside the bouquet of bullets, the whiff of weaponry and the perfume of the paramilitary – without having to step into harm’s way.

The MOD already uses modified videogames to train ground troops but researcher have just invested £20,000 to investigate whether adding the sense of smell to a game experience can significantly enhance its realism and hence its value as a training aid.

“Smell is so closely linked to emotion and memory,” says Professor Bob Jones of Birmingham University, “it’s something that we need to take seriously.”

If the research proves effective, it may not be long before games consoles adopt the technology.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the games companies are looking for an inexpensive version for the domestic market,” said Jones.

“I think it could be translated into the computer games market in two-and-a-half years.”

Just imagine – by 2011 you could be playing Gears of War 4 with two little Microsoft-branded plugs up your nostrils. I bet that armour really starts to stink after a couple of hours out in the field.

British soldiers could be trained on a computer game with smell [Daily Telegraph]