Applications Officially Open for Hackaroma 2020, the World's First 'Digital Scent' Hackathon press release

Japanese digital fragrance startup Aromajoin is officially inviting talented developers and students of all types around the world to apply for a challenging, two-week creative experience using Aromajoin's flagship IoT scent device, the Aroma Shooter, with the intention of inspiring 'never-before-smelt' lifestyle prototypes.

The Aroma Shooter is a 6-chamber aroma emitter that completely abandons liquid media, which means no vapor, nor mist, nor steam. Based on Aromajoin's proprietary solid-state fragrance material, the device simply transports scented air on command, making it impossible for odors to linger or mix together unintentionally. The Aroma Shooter gives creative people the means to toggle discrete scents as smoothly as visual content on a screen.

Hackaroma will be a distributed hackathon, as participants build prototypes with Aroma Shooters in their own homes. Participants will demo their projects over the Internet on June 19th, 2020 and be scored by a panel of judges. Possibly most exciting, Aromajoin will facilitate the world's first livestreaming of scent data to Hackaroma spectators who own second generation Aroma Shooters.

Applications may officially apply via the form

Applicants will be screened for the creativity, feasibility, and usefulness of their project ideas. 6 entrants will be selected to borrow an Aroma Shooter demo kit and assorted scent cartridges, developing their ideas up until the livestream on June 19th. A panel of judges will later select the top 3 entrants, who will be awarded prizes that include a new Aroma Shooter kit (approximate retail value of $2,000) and Amazon eGift cards worth up to ¥30,000 (approximately USD $300).

Participants of Hackaroma are encouraged to build prototypes for any real-world application they prefer, so long as they wield the power of the Aroma Shooter. Some ideas include an aroma alarm clock, timed diffusion of relaxing scents at work, smell-o-vision, or even smell-enhanced virtual reality and gaming.

Aromajoin's mission is to change the world with aroma communication. In practical terms, the hardware startup is pioneering development of a true, end-to-end digital scent infrastructure, imagining a future where scent information travels as seamlessly as text, audio, and video.

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