• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to navigation
Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Connect
    • Custom Events
    • Slack
    • RSS
    • Send us a Tip
  • Advertise
  • Consulting
  • About
The Spoon
  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Advertise
  • About

Smell-O-Vision? TiVo Has Patented A TV Guide That Can Smell Your Spaghetti

by Michael Wolf
January 29, 2018February 1, 2018Filed under:
  • Around The Web
  • Connected Kitchen
  • Robotics, AI & Data
  • Smart Home
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Companies that make electronic programming guides have figured out six ways from Sunday to optimize recommendations for what your next binge-watched TV show should be. But what if your TV could recommend shows based on the smell of pizza or curry wafting through the living room?

That may be next. TiVo, the company that pushed the digital video recorder into the mainstream, has just been issued a patent for a guide system that will recommend content based on odors detected in a room.

So how does this crazy version of the Smell-O-Vision work? According to the patent document, the system detects odors using any number of different scent detection devices, or “electronic noses”, ranging from “chemical sensors, biosensors, gas chromatography systems, mass spectrometer-based systems, and/or hybrid systems.”  Once an odor is detected, the system matches the scent signature against  a database and then serves up content or ads based on the smell.

One somewhat strange example has the system detecting the smell of spaghetti and then serving up content “relevant to spaghetti” like “advertisements for spaghetti sauce, movies featuring the consumption of spaghetti, and/or any other media asset likely to be enjoyed by a user that enjoys spaghetti).”

Ok, so spaghetti based content is kind of a weird idea, but I’m willing to cut these guys some slack since they invented a TV guide that smells and I figure there are plenty of other people who can figure out interesting ways to use the technology.  One straightforward idea is to recommend cooking shows based on odors repeatedly detected in a home. Imagine how excited an exec at Nestle would be to know which homes smell like baked cookies on the weekends so they can serve up some Toll House ads on Saturday morning.

Programming guide with smell detection

The above illustration from the patent filing shows a programming guide with “scent mode” on and recommendations based on different odors such as perfume, pizza or pets.

The patented system can also factor in environmental factors such as heat or humidity. One example given in the patent the recommending cold beverages to a viewer when a room is hot since they might they might very well be thirsty.

The patent, which was filed on July 31, 2013, was issued to Rovi Guides Incorporated on December 26, 2017. Rovi, a provider of electronic programming guides and content protection software, was acquired by TiVo in 2016 and became part of TiVo business entertainment group that serves big cable and satellite providers.

You can hear about Spoiler Alert in our daily spoon podcast. You can also subscribe in Apple podcasts or through our Amazon Alexa skill. 


Related

The Idea of Smell-O-Vision Has Been Around for Over a Century. AI May Finally Make It Work

Since the early 1900s, the entertainment industry has been attempting to pair the experience of smell with video entertainment. In 1916, the Rivoli Theater in New York City introduced scents into the theater during a movie called The Story of Flowers. In 1933, the Rialto Theater installed an in-theater smell…

Smell-O-Vision Meets VR with Givaudan’s Technology

Sure, you may have walked, flown, or even blasted aliens on a virtual world -- but did you ever stop to smell the virtual roses? With Givaudan's technology you can smell not only the roses but a variety of other scents in a virtual kitchen. Here at the Food IT…

Aryballe Announces New Digital Nose Sensor

Aryballe, the French startup that makes a "digital nose," today announced a new version of its odor detection sensor. The company claims the new sensor is high-volume, lower cost and small enough to be built into consumer appliances. The new sensor is smaller than a paperclip and is equipped with…

Get the Spoon in your inbox

Just enter your email and we’ll take care of the rest:

Find us on some of these other platforms:

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
Tagged:
  • Rovi
  • Smell-O-Vision
  • TiVo

Post navigation

Previous Post Will a Combined Keurig Dr. Pepper Bring Back the Kold?
Next Post Next Up In Israeli Foodtech: Pesticides, Healthier Fruit Juice

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Get The Spoon in Your Inbox

The Spoon Podcast Network!

Feed your mind! Subscribe to one of our podcasts!

Report: Restaurant Tech Funding Drops to $1.3B in 2024, But AI & Automation Provide Glimmer of Hope
Don’t Forget to Tip Your Robot: Survey Shows Diners Not Quite Ready for AI to Replace Humans
A Week in Rome: Conclaves, Coffee, and Reflections on the Ethics of AI in Our Food System
How ReShape is Using AI to Accelerate Biotech Research
How Eva Goulbourne Turned Her ‘Party Trick’ Into a Career Building Sustainable Food Systems

Footer

  • About
  • Sponsor the Spoon
  • The Spoon Events
  • Spoon Plus

© 2016–2025 The Spoon. All rights reserved.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
 

Loading Comments...