Cracking the Science of Smell

A new generation of companies is homing in on one of the hardest problems in tech: Replicating human scent

- By Zach Schonbrun

Osh Agabi’s solution to one of biotechnology’s thorniest problems looks like an iridescent purple nipple the size of a steering wheel. Other than that, it’s inconspicuous. It doesn’t beep or pulse or hum. Hanging from a wall, it just sits quietly and smells.

Airports, arenas, factories, people—they all stink, and they stink in particular ways. We know this because our noses tell us so. But attempts to re-create our oldest sensory experience with machines and technology have been woefully lacking. Modern everyday devices might be smart enough to recognize our faces and voices, read our pulses, and track our emotions, but they can’t smell. The best example of a commercial device that can reliably pick up chemical signals in the air hasn’t changed in years. It’s called a smoke detector.

But Koniku Inc., which Agabi founded in 2015, says it’s landed upon a sensory breakthrough. In July the company struck an agreement with the world’s biggest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, to deploy the Konikore, as the purple bubble is called, to measure how a beverage’s aromatic notes are perceived and experienced by the nose, with the aim of enhancing flavor. And in the next few weeks, the Konikore is expected to start showing up in some U.S. airport terminals, thanks to a partnership with Airbus SE that’s geared toward bomb de tection. Koniku has also signed a development deal with electronic sensor =manufacturer Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. to create a method for detecting traces of marijuana on people suspected of driving under the influence.