Army training video to experiment with smells

10:27 19th May 2009

A new training video for army recruits is to experiment with smells in a way that could also affect the mainstream gaming industry.

People pursuing a career change and embarking on a military career could find that their training involves smells being released into the room as they watch training videos, in order to gain a fuller experience of different environments.

A variety of smells such as cooked meat, burnt rubber from vehicle tyres and cordite from recently discharged firearms could all warn soldiers of imminent danger and may be used in the scheme.

Professor Bob Stone, research director of the Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre at Birmingham University, said: "If we rely only on sights and sounds, we are in danger of closing our minds to what is going on around us. And for a soldier, that can mean the difference between life and death."

The new initiative could potentially be used for computer training, as well as finding applications within the gaming industry.

In related IT training news, the Southern Daily Echo reports that computer resources are proving popular among older residents at sheltered housing courts in Southampton.