Olfactory cues improve location recognition in virtual reality navigation
Exploring the Effects of Olfactory Cues and Ventilation on Teleportation-based Navigation in VR
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
People use their sense of smell to help recognize places when they cannot rely fully on their vision. The authors studied how smells affect people’s ability to remember locations while moving around in virtual reality using teleportation and dashing methods. They found that smells helped users recognize where they had been, and managing the airflow helped reduce confusing leftover scents. However, making users wait longer for the smell to clear did not improve memory as expected. This shows that adding smells can help people navigate VR worlds but also needs careful scent management to keep the experience comfortable.
What this means in practice
- •For virtual reality developers: Improve VR navigation interfaces by incorporating olfactory cues to enhance users' spatial recognition during teleportation and dash movements.
- •For game designers: Design immersive environments that use strategic olfactory signals and controlled ventilation to provide clearer spatial context and better player comfort.
Authors
Dongyun Han, Heecheol Kim, Siyeon Bak, Chang-Guen Song, Sun-Jeong Kim, Isaac Cho
Abstract
Spatial cognition supports how people interpret spatial relationships and navigate their surroundings. Although vision plays a dominant role, other sensory modalities, including olfaction, may also contribute under limited visual conditions. This paper investigates the role of olfactory cues in location recognition during virtual reality (VR) navigation. We conducted two formal studies using a wearable olfactory prototype. Study 1 examined whether olfactory cues and ventilation influenced users' recognition of encountered locations during \HDY{teleportation-} and dash-based navigation. Study 2 extended this investigation to repeated navigation and examined whether ventilation duration influenced recognition performance and user experience across successive movements. Results show that olfactory cues can support recognition of encountered locations during navigation, while ventilation was associated with reduced residual interference and improved usability. However, longer ventilation did not clearly improve recognition accuracy in repeated navigation. These findings suggest the potential of olfactory cues as contextual signals during VR navigation, while also highlighting the importance of scent management for maintaining perceptual clarity and user comfort.