AromaClock: The Alarm Clock That Alerts You With Scent

First-year Student Jaemin Cho’s AromaClock and Aroma 4D Platform reimagines the use of scent as a triggering device for behaviors that users want to reinforce.

Jaemin envisions this “alarm clock” not only for use in the bedroom in the morning, but throughout the house—in living rooms, kitchens, and studies—triggering reminders and prompting users to engage in desirable habits.

Scenarios
The possibilities for scenarios where the clock shines were discovered through storyboarding. The first storyboard shows a collaboration with Minute Maid, which provides cartridges so that “people can wake up to the scent of citrus.”

A second scenario imagines a partnership with Downy Fabric Softener, where the alarm clock releases the scent of fresh clothing to prompt you to remember to do your laundry! And a third scenario imagines a partnership with Headspace, where the clock sends out a sweet scent, reminding you to do your daily meditation.

The App
The platform wouldn’t be complete without an app, of course. First, users choose which brands they align with, and which activities “they’d like to be reminded about.”

The platform will also suggest newly-available scent cartridges, so the system is built to accommodate a broad range of partnerships.

Aroma 4D in Retail
Jaemin also designed the platform for use at retail—”AROMA 4D for Business”—helping customers discover new scents while they are out shopping. Participating stores are outfitted with Commercial AROMA 4D devices, which have bluetooth beacons that can send notifications to users who have installed AROMA 4D app, alerting them to new scents, and providing a direct link to purchase.

Finally, a smartwatch app can also alert the user at retail, allowing users a way to save favorite smells to purchase later—either as clock cartridges, or as room sprays!