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- IoS involves a multisensory experience where we can explore clothes, food, environments, and experiences with all our five senses.
- IoS can add an interactive element to the existing AR and VR experiences, enabling us to touch objects, smell different scents, hear the surroundings, and more.
- Estimates show that the IoS market will grow to four times its current size by 2032. Simultaneously, is important to consider the privacy and data risks that will come along.
Building on the widespread success of the Internet of Things (IoT), the Internet of Senses (IoS) is the next phenomenon ready to take over the world and amaze us.
What Is IoS?
The modern technology no longer restricts us to just sight and sound. With the rapid advancement in the tech world, digital experiences will now cater to our senses of touch, taste, and smell.
IoS is a term introduced by Ericsson Consumer Labs. It foresees a “digital reality, where online experiences extend from plain old sight and hearing to touch, smell, and even taste.” The physical and digital worlds collide to give users a multisensory experience. A highly immersive environment where digital devices and applications will involve the five senses of touch, smell, hearing, sight, and taste to create an Extended Reality (XR).
The concept will be driven by multiple technologies, like AR/VR, haptic feedback 5G, 6G automation, and holographic (Comert & Akkas, 2023). Additionally, Panagiotakopoulos et al. (2022) emphasized the role of 6G being the primary contributor to enabling multisensory digital experiences.
Use Cases Of IoS
Imagine swimming in a pool in the Metaverse. With IoS technology, you can feel the water rushing past your body, and hear the sound of each splash. Or picture yourself out in the snow, feeling the cold ice beneath you, the chilly winds on your face, and the sharp coldness when you hold the snow in your hand.
Implementing IoS in the food industry can help companies experiment with different tastes without spending costs on actual food. Norimaki Synthesizers is a tech gadget created by researchers at Meiji University. Licking the device will artificially stimulate the taste of different food flavors on your tongue.
In addition, a Vocktail is a virtual drink that relies on taste, smell, and sight (color) to produce a virtual flavor sensation on your tongue (Ranasinghe et al., 2017).
For travel enthusiasts, IoS can take you to virtually any place in the world. You can explore the environment, interact with the surroundings, try their food, and more.
It will also eliminate the need to physically go to shopping malls and stores. IoS will allow you to make the right purchases through full-sense digital shopping using touch and sight to assess the fabric of the clothes. You can also virtually taste different dishes on the menu to order exactly the right one for your craving.
Gaming in XR will surpass our wildest imaginations, making it feel as if we have physically transcended into the gaming world. We will be able to touch the surroundings and feel the temperature. Additionally, we will be able to smell different scents in the environment, hear the sounds around us, and, of course, visualize everything in the game.
The Future
According to Market Research Future, the IoS market was worth $1.6 billion in 2023. However, with the rapid adoption of wireless technologies and AI, it is estimated to be worth about $4.1 billion by 2032.
A sensory digital world is not a far-fetched idea anymore. Ericsson estimates that it could be our new reality by 2030. Besides, the launch of Meta’s smart glasses shows the intention of tech giants to implement IoS in their universe.
Similarly, the Internet of Senses Institute is already onboarding individuals from various fields, such as entrepreneurs, educators, IT professionals, and researchers. Their goal is to make IoS a reality in every aspect.
While we are excited to embrace IoS as our new reality, we must not overlook the risks attached to large-scale IoS implementation. A major disadvantage will be the breach of privacy. Companies will rely on our sensory data to improve their products.
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