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EP-4739358-A1 - PRIMARY ODORS FOR OLFACTORY DIGITIZATION

EP4739358A1EP 4739358 A1EP4739358 A1EP 4739358A1EP-4739358-A1

Abstract

There is presented a technique of providing digital olfactory applications using a set of primary odors. The method comprises: obtaining a set of odors corresponding to inventory of odor items, each odor being characterized by its set of odor-related representative aspects in one or more odor-related spaces; and identifying, within the set of odors, all odors validly covering at least one representative aspect of at least one odor (VCA odors with regard to the at least one odor). Data informative of the VCA odors are processed to identify a set of primary odors for at least one odor. The set of primary odors is used in digital olfactory applications (e.g. reformulating a target odor, maintaining an inventory of odor items, etc.). Processing data informative of the VCA odors to identify a set of primary odors can comprise reducing to a set cover problem and applying a set cover algorithm.

Inventors

  • AMIT, IDAN
  • KRAWITZ, Tzahi
  • BENTZUR, Assa
  • MANIATI, Klio

Assignees

  • Moodify Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240702

Claims (14)

  1. 1. A computerized method of providing a digital olfactory application, the method comprising: obtaining a set of odors corresponding to an inventory of odor items, each odor being characterized by its set of odor-related representative aspects in one or more odor-related spaces; for at least one odor, identifying, within the set of odors, all odors validly covering at least one representative aspect thereof, thus giving rise to VCA odors with regard to the at least one odor; processing data informative of the VCA odors to identify a set of primary odors for the at least one odor; and using the set of primary odors in a digital olfactory application.
  2. 2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the one or more odor-related spaces are perceptual-based space and/or receptor-based space.
  3. 3. The method of Claims 1 or 2, wherein a set of odor-related representative aspects is constituted merely by aspects selected, among odor-related aspects characterizing a given odor, in accordance with their importance for similarity between the odors in the set of odors.
  4. 4. The method of any one of Claims 1 - 3, wherein the at least one representative aspect is associated with a binary representative value, and wherein a given odor is considered as validly covering the at least one representative aspect of the at least one odor when: the given odor belongs to the set of odors; the given odor is characterized by the at least one representative aspect; and the given odor is not characterized by any representative aspect out of the set of representative aspects of the at least one odor.
  5. 5. The method of any one of Claims 1 - 4, wherein the at least one representative aspect is associated with non-binary representative values, and wherein a given odor is considered as validly covering the at least one representative aspect when: the given odor belongs to the set of odors; the given odor is characterized by the at least one representative aspect with associated representative value that is not lower than respective non-binary representative value of the at least one odor; and when the given odor is characterized by a representative aspect out of the set of representative aspects of the at least one odor, a representative value associated with said respective aspect is negligible.
  6. 6. The method of any one of Claims 1 - 5, further comprising identifying VCA odors with regard to all odors in the set of odors; and processing data informative of the VCA odors to identify a set of primary odors for all odors in the set of odors.
  7. 7. The method of any one of Claims 1 - 6, wherein processing data informative of the VCA odors to identify the set of primary odors comprises reducing to a set cover problem and applying a set cover algorithm.
  8. 8. The method of any one of Claims 1 -7, wherein identifying the set of primary odors is provided in accordance with similarity requirements, and wherein the similarity requirements are configured differently for different odor items or groups thereof.
  9. 9. The method of any one of Claims 1 - 8, wherein at least part of the odor items is represented by mixtures of respective material sources.
  10. 10. The method of any one of Claims 1 - 9, wherein at least part of the primary odors corresponds to mixtures of the odor items from the inventory.
  11. 11. The method of any one of Claims 1 - 10, wherein the digital olfactory application is reformulating a target odor, the inventory of odor items comprises odor items testable during the reformulating, the at least one odor is the target odor and the identified set of primaries is usable for removing from the inventory redundant odor items similarly contributing to the target odor and/or removing irrelevant odor items not contributing into the target odor.
  12. 12. The method of any one of Claims 1 - 10, wherein the digital olfactory application is maintaining the inventory of odor items, and the identified set of primaries is usable for optimizing the inventory by removing from an inventory listing at least part of redundant odor items.
  13. 13. A computing system configured to perform the operations of any one of Claims 1- 12.
  14. 14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computing system comprising a memory storing a plurality of program components executable by the computing system, cause the computing system to operate in accordance with any one of Claims 1-12.

Description

PRIMARY ODORS FOR OLFACTORY DIGITIZATION TECHNICAL FIELD [01] The presently disclosed subject matter relates to digital olfactory techniques and, more particularly, to digital olfactory techniques involving primary odors. BACKGROUND [02] Digital olfactory is an emerging field that aims to capture, store, recognize and reproduce scents through digital means. Digital olfactory technologies enable generating, transmitting, and receiving smell-enabled digital media usable for communication, gaming, virtual reality, extended reality, e-commerce, automotive and other applications. Likewise, digital olfactory is usable for a wide range of other applications, for example detection of diseases through breath, air quality surveillance, the food and beverage processing, fragrance engineering, etc. [03] An application incorporating a digital olfactory technique is referred to hereinafter as a digital olfactory application. [04] Practical realization of digital olfactory technologies can be achieved with the help of the concept of primary odors. Similarly to primary colors in visual representation, primary odors can be mixed in different proportions to produce a wide spectrum of scents as well as encode and reproduce olfactory information and enable accurate and consistent olfactory experiences across various applications. [05] Identifying a set of primary odors for olfactory digitization is a complex task, and various approaches have been explored, for example: [06] Odor Prism by Hans Henning proposes a prism-shaped graphic representation of six primary odors and their relationships. Burnt, spicy, resinous, foul, fruity, and flowery are the primary odors that occupy the corners of the prism, and each surface represents the positions of odors in accordance with their similarity to the primary odors at the corners of that surface. [07] Chemical Component Analysis proposes identifying the primary odors by analyzing the chemical composition of different odors. [08] Perceptual Space Mapping involves collecting data on how humans perceive similarities and differences between various odors. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) then maps these perceptions into a spatial model, helping to identify primary odors that are perceptually distinct. [09] Principal Component Analysis (PCA) represents each odor by a vector of features and applies a mathematical technique to reduce the dimensionality of odor data while preserving as much variance as possible. Thereby PCA enables discovering clusters of similar odors and identifying the primary odors. GENERAL DESCRIPTION [010] The inventor has appreciated that there is a need to downscale an entire collection of odors items to a set of primary odors from which all other odors in the collection can be derived with a required similarity. [Oi l] In accordance with certain aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter there is provided a computerized method of providing a digital olfactory application. The method comprises obtaining a set of odors corresponding to an inventory of odor items, each odor being characterized by its set of odor-related representative aspects in one or more odor- related spaces (e.g. perceptual-based space, receptor-based space, etc.). The method further comprises: for at least one odor, identifying, within the set of odors, all odors validly covering at least one representative aspect thereof, thus giving rise to VCA odors with regard to the at least one odor; processing data informative of the VCA odors to identify a set of primary odors for the at least one odor; and using the set of primary odors in a digital olfactory application. [012] The method can further comprise identifying VC A odors with regard to all odors in the set of odors; and processing data informative of the VC A odors to identify a set of primary odors for all odors in the set of odors. [013] In accordance with further aspects and, optionally, in combination with other aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter, when a given representative aspect of a certain odor is associated with a binary representative value, a given odor is considered as validly covering the representative aspect of the certain odor when: the given odor belongs to the set of odors; the given odor is characterized, at least, by the representative aspect; and the given odor is not characterized by any representative aspect out of the set of representative aspects of the certain odor. [014] Further, when a representative aspect of a certain odor is associated with a nonbinary representative value, a given odor is considered as validly covering the representative aspect of the certain odor when: the given odor belongs to the set of odors; the given odor is characterized by the at least one representative aspect with associated representative value that is not lower than respective non-binary representative value of the at least one odor; and when the given odor is characterized by a representative aspect out of the s