Toby’s Estate works on world’s first smell-o-phone

Coffee photography is nothing new, but now the scientific geniuses at MIT have combined with the coffee expertise of Australia’s Toby’s Estate to take sensorial communications to a whole new level with the invention of the world’s  first smell transmitting device. The Ophone, which has been developed by MIT professor and founder of Le Laboratoire David Edwards in partnership with master perfumer Olivier Pescheux from Givaudan, Toby’s Estate sensory and quality manager Ryan Spinoglio and artist Carsten Nicolai, will make it possible to send an electronic coffee odour around the world at the touch of a button. The team has broken down the smell of coffee to four main odours, which can then be transmitted and reproduced by the Ophone. The new technology will be demonstrated at Le Laboratoire in Paris from May 17 to September 15, allowing visitors to program in the unique aroma of their coffee and then send it via the device to Spinoglio in Sydney.