Fifth Sense and OWidgets announce new collaboration

We are excited to announce a new collaboration between Fifth Sense and technology company OWidgets. Working together to advance knowledge across our shared interests – research, education and the support of those with chemosensory disorders and innovation in digital smell technology – our collaboration will see us share our expertise and explore new projects together with the aim of improving the lives of people affected by smell disorders through the development of digital applications and devices.
OWidgets is a company established to both harness the use of the sense of smell and its power and aid people with smell disorders through scientific and technological advances. Established as a University spin-out in 2019, OWidgets (OW) was founded by two leading scientists – Emanuela Maggioni and Marianna Obrist. Emanuela received a PhD in Social, Cognitive, and Clinical Psychology in 2015 at the University of Milano-Bicocca, was visiting researcher at the University of Oxford and UCL, and is now an Honorary Research Fellow at UCL, Department of Computer Science, where Marianna is Professor of Multisensory Interfaces, leading an interdisciplinary team studying next to smell, also taste and touch experiences. OW creates digital smell technology that aims to transform an ecosystem dominated by sound and vision, giving the sense of smell the attention it deserves.
‘I’m very excited about the potential offered by our collaboration with OWidgets’ said Fifth Sense Chief Executive and founder Duncan Boak. ‘Our Smell and Taste Disorders Priority Setting Partnership highlighted that Fifth Sense members want to see technology being used to rehabilitate smell and taste, and there are other applications too, for example around safety in the home. The OWidgets team are passionate about making a difference to people with smell and taste disorders and I am looking forward to working together.’
Prof Marianna Obrist, OWidgets Chief Scientific Officer & Co-Founder, talked about some of the company’s work and plans in the presentation she gave at the 2021 Fifth Sense National Conference. You can watch this on the Fifth Sense YouTube channel here. To learn more about OWidgets visit www.ow-smelldigital.com