Exploring the Need of Assistive Technologies for People with Olfactory Disorders

Olfactory disorders can significantly affect a human’s quality of life. We sought to investigate whether there are opportunities for assistive technologies to support people with olfactory disorders in day-to-day life. To achieve this goal, we surveyed 70 people with olfactory disorders to understand their behaviors, experiences, technologies used, and challenges with olfaction. We then conducted 10 follow-up interviews to further discuss views on current technology for people with olfactory disorders and the design opportunities for assistive technologies for olfaction from their point of view. Our results illustrated participants’ varied views on current technology, behaviors/technologies adopted when presented with particular scenarios, and potential solutions for designing assistive technologies for olfactory disorders. Through these findings, we discuss design considerations for assistive technology for olfaction.