Among the five human senses, AI development has advanced the furthest in the area of vision, with computers now easily able to identify and understand images. As for auditory perception, AI is increasingly capable of comprehending human voice commands.
On the other hand, olfaction remains a relatively unfamiliar domain for AI. However, the process of perfume formulation, which seems intuitive, is actually quite scientific and well-suited for AI to tackle.
First, perfume creation is based on massive amounts of scent data. Perfume formulation involves thousands of natural and synthetic fragrances, each with its own specific scent characteristics, volatility, etc. Such extensive data provides rich material for training AI algorithms. AI can quickly process and analyze this vast data, uncovering patterns and correlations and inspiring perfumers to create the most harmonious, balanced, and unique scents.
In addition, perfume creation is a process of trial and error. A perfume formula can include dozens or even hundreds of ingredients, which may be further divided into various scent layers such as top, middle, and base notes. These scents evolve over time and react to temperature changes. Therefore, creating a perfume requires continuous adjustment of the ingredient combinations and proportions to achieve the desired scent. Utilizing several historical formulas and evaluations, AI can predict the scent characteristics of different combinations, significantly reducing the time needed to optimize a formula.
How is AI transforming perfume development? One major application is customized perfume, where scents are tailored to each customer’s preferences and needs. A notable example is ScenTronix, a new Dutch perfume technology startup founded in 2018.
ScenTronix was cofounded by Dutch artist Frederik Duerinck and Anahita Mekanik, who has over 20 years of experience in the fragrance industry. The company’s main product is its customized fragrance service, EveryHuman.
ScenTronix feeds a customer’s scent preferences, lifestyle details, personality traits, and other data into an algorithm, which eventually uses a specially designed “fragrance printer” to create a customized perfume. However, because this device does not actually possess a “sense of smell,” human noses are still necessary to assess whether a scent is good or not. Therefore, ScenTronix also utilizes customer feedback to refine and optimize the algorithm. By adjusting the combinations and proportions of base scents, the printer is capable of creating over 500 billion different perfumes and producing customized perfumes for up to 50 customers per hour.
ScenTronix currently has locations in Breda, Vienna, London, Dubai, and the Netherlands, where anyone can go to experience the fragrance printer themselves; more than 75,000 customers have already employed ScenTronix’s services to create their own exclusive scents.
Moreover, with a cofounder who’s also an artist, ScenTronix’s market entry strategy differs significantly from that of other perfume brands.
For example, most perfume brands want to collaborate with artists to launch cobranded perfumes, but ScenTronix seeks to turn the service itself into a work of art. Therefore, when Duerinck set out to design a perfume-making machine, he not only focused on its functionality but also paid special attention to the machine’s aesthetics and overall design, ensuring that people would be attracted to it and interact with it, ultimately allowing the product to speak for itself. This unique product design concept has provided ScenTronix with opportunities to collaborate with other fragrance brands and increase market visibility through nontraditional methods such as participating in large-scale design events and art festivals.
However, despite the fact that perfume formulation relies heavily on science and data, many people believe that AI cannot completely replace human perfumers. Crafting a pleasant-smelling perfume still requires human creativity and sensitivity. After all, one’s sense of smell is highly subjective and influenced by individual life experiences, emotions, and cultural background, among other factors. Therefore, achieving the perfect combination of sensibility and rationality presents the next frontier for AI perfumers to break through after they’ve refined various fragrance “formulas”!
