Along with technological advances, the standard of living has also increased. From basic needs to higher-level needs, many things have become better compared to the old days. That being said, there are still a lot of aspects that are overlooked and could use more improvements. One of those is the ability for people with disabilities to live independently. In the past, people with disabilities often had to rely completely on their caretakers to live day to day. But with the advancement of technology, gradually they can start living more independent lives. The existence of smart devices has improved their ability to be independent. However, our team believes there is still more room for improvement. Out of the ten available themes for PKM, we resonated the most with protecting the rights of people with disabilities. In our opinion, they are among the most ignored and belittled groups in society. We want to help them regain their independence and live normally as part of society.

The idea of using scent as a navigation aid came from our observation of currently available assistive devices. Many devices rely heavily on sound and texture. Sounds like beeps or voice directions can be helpful, but they can also be hard to focus on. They can block out important environmental noises, like the sound of approaching cars or people calling out. This can sometimes be dangerous. Furthermore, constant audio feedback adds to noise pollution in public spaces, which can be tiring for everyone. On the other hand, physical cues are very useful. These include braille signs on walls, bumpy ground tiles at crosswalks, or vibrating devices held in the hand. These tactile methods are reliable, but they have one big limitation: you need to be very close to or actually touching them to notice. You must already be at the specific location to receive the information. This does not help with giving early warnings or guiding someone from a distance. There is a gap here. Navigation help often lacks a sense that can provide information from a few meters away, without making noise.

This gap in current technology led us to think about our other senses. Human beings have five main senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. For navigation, sight is the primary sense used by most people. For the visually impaired, hearing and touch have become the main replacements. But what about our sense of smell? Smell is a powerful and often underused sense. It is processed by the part of our brain linked to memory and emotion. This is why a certain smell can instantly remind us of a place or a moment from our past. We wondered: could this powerful sense be harnessed to provide guidance? Could specific scents act as invisible landmarks or directional signals? The more we researched, the more we realized smell has unique advantages. It is constant. A scent lingers in an area. It does not turn on and off like a sound. It can be noticed without needing to focus all your attention on it. You can smell something while still listening to the world around you. This makes it a perfect candidate for a background guidance system.

Imagine walking through a complex building like a hospital or a university campus. For a visually impaired person, this can be very challenging. Audio instructions might say, “turn left in 50 meters,” but in a crowded hallway, that voice can be hard to hear. Braille signs are only on doorframes. Now, imagine if different sections of the building had gentle, distinct scents. The administrative wing might have a subtle clean lemon scent. The cafeteria area might have a faint, warm bread aroma. The library might have a soft paper or wood smell. These scents wouldn’t be strong or overwhelming like perfume. They would be very light markers in the air. As a person walks, they would know, “I’m moving from the lemon area into the bread area, so I’m nearing the cafeteria.” The scent acts as a constant, passive cue. It doesn’t require active listening or searching with hands. It simply surrounds the person and provides continuous information about their zone. This can reduce anxiety. You always have a general idea of where you are, not just at specific sign points.

This idea can also work for more direct navigation. Think of a path in a park. At the beginning of the path, a small, safe device could release a gentle scent of pine. Along the path, the scent continues. If the person starts to drift off the path to the left, where there might be a pond or bushes, a different scent, like mint, could be introduced from a device on that side. The person would smell the mint on their left and know, “I’m going the wrong way, I need to move back to where the pine scent is strongest.” The pine scent acts like an invisible line to follow. This provides a form of guidance that doesn’t cover up the sounds of nature or other people. It allows the user to keep their hearing completely free for other things, like enjoying birdsong or hearing a bicycle approach. This method is also very private. No one else needs to know you’re receiving guidance. There is no voice announcing your destination to everyone nearby. This protects the user’s privacy and dignity.

Of course, using scent comes with challenges that we must solve. The first challenge is making sure scents are clear and distinct. People must be able to tell them apart easily. Scents like citrus, mint, vanilla, and sandalwood are very different from each other and are commonly recognized. They would need to be non-allergenic and pleasant for most people. We would avoid scents linked to strong food or flowers that might cause problems. The second challenge is controlling the scent strength. It should be strong enough to be noticed but so weak that it doesn’t bother others who are not using it for navigation. The scent should fade quickly after leaving the area to avoid mixing and confusion. Modern air diffusion technology can control scent strength very precisely. The third challenge is the delivery system. How do we put these scents in the right places? In buildings, small diffusers could be installed in ventilation systems or on walls at key points. For outdoor or personal use, a wearable device for the user might be possible. This wearable device, perhaps worn on a lanyard or wrist, could be connected to a GPS or a digital map of scent zones. It would then release the correct guiding scent at the right time, tailored just for the user. This personal device would solve the problem of public scent pollution. It would also make the system flexible and usable anywhere, not just in specially equipped buildings.

Another important point is training. Just as people learn to understand a map or a GPS voice, they would learn to connect scents with meanings. This training would be simple and intuitive. They would learn that “lavender means the main entrance,” or “ocean breeze means you are facing north on the street.” The human brain is very good at making these connections, especially because smell links directly to memory. Over time, navigating by scent could become a natural and intuitive feeling. A user might even start to feel a sense of calm when they smell their ‘home’ or ‘destination’ scent. This emotional connection can make travel more pleasant. Training programs could use scent kits with simple patterns to build this skill quickly.

We also believe this system can work together with existing technology, not replace it. It is part of a bigger idea called multi-sensory assistance. For example, when approaching a busy street crossing, the user might feel a vibration in their smart cane (touch), hear a beep from their phone (sound), and smell a change to a “warning” scent like ginger (smell). This combination of signals makes the information very clear and hard to miss. It creates a safety net. If one sense is busy (like if their hearing is covered by loud traffic) the other senses can still receive the message. This makes navigation safer and less stressful. The scent adds a new, reliable layer of information that works when other senses are overloaded. It is a teamwork approach for the senses.

Looking to the future, the possibilities are exciting. Smart cities could include scent grids in public transportation hubs. A train platform could have one scent, while the bus area has another. This would help visually impaired travelers transfer between services smoothly. In emergencies, a specific “exit” scent could be activated to guide everyone to safety, which is helpful in dark or smoky conditions where sight and sound fail. The technology can grow and adapt. It is a simple idea with powerful applications.

In conclusion, our goal is to create a new layer of independence for the visually impaired. By using the underused sense of smell, we can provide continuous, passive, and unobtrusive navigation help. This method avoids the problems of sound pollution and the distance limits of touch. It can turn confusing spaces into places with invisible but understandable scent maps. We want to move towards a world where technology uses all our senses to help everyone move freely and confidently. Protecting the rights of people with disabilities means more than just building ramps. It means innovating to give them more tools for independence, privacy, and safety. Using scent as a guide is a step towards a future where they can navigate society not just with help, but with a new, natural sense of direction. We imagine a day when a visually impaired person can walk through a busy train station, guided by a gentle trail of scents, feeling less reliant on others and more in control of their journey. This simple, elegant solution honors their capabilities. It offers a quiet, constant companion for exploration. This is the future we want to help build, a more inclusive and intuitive world for all.