Google has launched a new product that allows users to search the internet through smells. Yes, you read it right. The internet titan has rolled out Google Nose, currently in its beta stage, which enables users to check out what their search queries smell like. For example, you can look up for terms like wet dog, lemon or beach and get a whiff of their aromas by pressing your nose against your laptop, smartphone or tablet.
Wondering how will you enjoy the scent of, say, a rose from your PC, smartphone or tablet? Google says that it has achieved this by "Intersecting photons with ultrasound waves to temporarily realign the molecules to emulate a particular scent."
Android users can even look up the scents around them by submitting the search query through Google Now digital assistant that now integrates a smell-based feature called Android Ambient Odour Detection. So, they would have to open the Google Now app, hit the search button when they are around a particular scent and the search engine will look it up.
The company has created Google Aromabase, a repository containing data about how search queries smell. For example, the smell of success is described as "sweet," while that of cookies is said to be "sweet, doughy and delicious." Google Aromabase has data worth over 15 millionscentibytes and users can enable Safe Search mode for smell-based searches.
In order to create a data base of smells, Google created a team of Street Sense vehicles that "have inhaled and indexed millions of atmospheric miles." The company also has "SMELLCD 1.8+ high-resolution compatible for precise and controlled odours" for accurate olfactory results.
Before you get your hopes up, Google Nose is just another elaborate prank by the company on April Fools' Day.
Other Google pranks on this year's April Fools' Day include shutting down YouTube and atreasure hunt on Google Maps.
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