Think you stink?
IN Malaysian weather, body odour is always a potential concern. Luckily the Japanese have invented a doohickey that can check if you smell like doo doo.
Precision measurement company tanita – probably best known for its body composition weighing scales – unveiled the ES-100, a pager-like device that leverages the company’s breath-analyser technology to detect chemical compounds that cause bad smells.
“Recently, ‘smell harassment’ – having too strong a smell that it causes others discomfort – has been on the rise. though people realise odour care is part of grooming, recognising one’s own odour can be difficult to do or manage,” says tanita president Chisato tanida.
To use the device, customers need only swivel out the sensor and place it near the body part they think may smell, for 10 seconds.
The machine will give an odour reading on a scale of zero to 10, and if the user’s stink exceeds level five, it will give a “deodorant alert”, warning users that their odour is socially unacceptable.
The ES-100 uses custom algorithms to detect and estimate the levels of hundreds of ingredients that contribute to “sweat odour”, “old-people smell”, “fatigue smell”, and even offensively powerful perfumes.
“in addition to work situations like customer service and meetings, we anticipate users would want to check themselves before personal engagements like a date. We aim to develop awareness of body odour, starting with male business persons in their 40s to 50s,” he says.
This straight out of Doraemon device is compact – it measures only 94 x 52 x 25mm and weighs 60g without batteries.
The sensor cartridge, which is replaceable, is rated for 2,000 readings or about a year of usage.
The product is expected to go on sale this month but, as of press time, the price and local availability have not been announced.