Olly the Smelly Robot Uses Aroma to Alert You About Internet Events

Most of us with a bit of computer savvy can assign sounds to incoming emails or other online happenings. But what if you could assign odors to them as well?

That's the idea behind Olly, a USB-powered device which takes internet events and turns them into smells. A slide-out tray in the back of the device holds drops of essential oils, perfumes or even fresh fruit, releasing the smell to "ping" you when a particular event occurs.

Got a Facebook "like," a new email or a mention on Twitter? The room will fill with your fragrance of choice. And while each Olly device can only emit one smell at a time, they can be easily stacked to handle a variety of events.

Olly isn't yet available for sale but all the parts and code are open, so if you have access to a 3D printer and are handy with a soldering iron, you can soon make one yourself. What does a Tweet smell like anyway?

[via The Next Web]