People share images and sounds online regularly – and could soon be able to share smells.

Researchers have developed technology that features an electronic nose that recognises smells, like the distinctive aroma of coffee , and then instructs a small and wearable remote device ⁠to release scent molecules matching it.

The researchers call this latest development in ⁠the field of digital scent technology "Scentronic."

"In simple terms, it connects 'smelling something here' with 'recreating the corresponding smell somewhere else,'" said Chunyu Yang, an Ohio State University doctoral student in materials science and engineering and lead author of a study describing the technology published in the journal Science Advances .

"The idea is to add smell to the visual and audio information we already share remotely, making those experiences more engaging," Yang said.

"What makes Scentronic different is that it brings odor sensing ​and ⁠generation together for remote sharing.…