Smell

I know, I know, but think about this first.

When crashing a car, radiator gets broken, this blows smell of hot coolant into cockpit, it is quite unmistakable smell.

You can get this smell, by having USB powered small container which has proper coolant mixture, USB powered resistor would heat up liquid to 90C and thermostat would keep temperature there.

Upon a crash where radiator breaks, vent would open in container and vent would start to blow releasing smell into room. It is not harmful, just smells bad and is good part of experience.

What it would require is to have BeamNG to output something so that driver of such hardware would know when to activate this effect.

This would open business opportunities to many Chinese cheap gadget makers and maybe some enough adventurous big manufacturer.

Also there could be similar way smell of tire smoke, I'm quite sure some clever minds can figure out liquid that would smell like tire smoke, after all they can make a salmon that tastes like a shrimp, so anything is possible.

There are no games that I know of that would actually had support for such hardware so such hardware has not been developed, but I think single device for single smell, it could work and as BeamNG is largely about crashing it kind of would fit in nicely.

All that would be needed would be possibility for external application to get state of radiator (broken / intact) from BeamNG, not sure if some kind of proof of concept device would need to be made for gaming world to go crazy about it, but it might be something that allows to be different.

 

maybe in 2.0

Idea seems VERY ambitious. How would the dev team do this? They've amazed us before but not like this.

 

I have a better idea.

Feel.


You would have a tilting chair with the screen infront of you and a brick wall. At 40 mph, you crash into a wall and break a couple of bones. At 100 Mph, you fly into the wall and die.

 

I don't think it is much harder than outputting into log, radiator 1 or radiator 0.

Rest is problem for the hardware makers.

Of course biggest problem is to get someone that makes usb cup heaters to enough excited about it.

I can easily make C# application that reads temperature from Arduino serial data, I'm sure it is quite easy for professionals to make software to spit out certain status of car components.

Device itself is quite easy to make, just liquid container, resistor for heating, spring loaded lid and fan below that lid, solenoid pulls when radiator goes broken, fan engages when solenoid pulls, heating would be always on when device is plugged in and user has to provide liquid.

It is very simple actually, but of course hardest part is to get someone to make the device and driver for the device.

If there would be output to certain TCP port for example, even I could make software and hardware using Arduino.

It only feels big thing, when you crash

Motion seats are already existing, you get shaked up well in those, but I haven't heard about smell yet, despite there being rumors for tens of years.

Update, of course forgot temperature sensor from description of parts. Anyone done some electronic device building probably can figure out how simple such device would be.

 

good luck certifying the device for sale.

Releasing vapours? Thats tightly controlled FDA territory, wont go well.

 

Yeah the UK government wouldnt allow something like that to be sold in the UK besides sometimes things are too risky to be put into production!

 

So, a usb powered Hookah for tire smoke and radiator fluid?
The idea sounds feasible, but not all that practical in my eyes (or nose). I'm not really sure I would want my computer room to smell like a car from Roadkill.

I have to say though, I've never seen that idea show up on these forums before.

 

I guess it might be more realistic to think some propeller heads (me) building own devices if there would be a support in sim. Then again, is there a support in sim already?

I know some other sims have features which has allowed people to build rpm gauges from real world rpm gauges, speedometers etc. Some guys have build quite impressive cockpits with such features, but to be honest I don't know if BeamNG supports such or if it will support such, I would guess it is something devs would like to implement some day?


@SixSixSevenSeven, oh yes those rules and legislation which I always happily seem to forget when crazy ideas start popping to my head with help of sweet dopamine overload, oh why we have to live in such caged world

Anyway, vapor idea I got in sauna, they sell lot of all kind of odor things you put on a bowl that is on stones of sauna heater unit, so odors will fill whole sauna.

Maybe some of those rocking simulator boxes on shows could be more plausible use case scenario for such?

Also you can get anything with certificates printed on from China, they don't really mind if it fits into rules or not, if it just sells, so some day some factory in China will probably start making such because I'm certainly not only one with the idea, it really needs just someone with enough funding behind him and such devices might make short flight on markets, then probably will go some time and Logitech or some other big player will come to market with more sophisticated and certificated very expensive gadget.

Or then not, who knows, but ideas are nice to be thrown up to air, sometimes they can create something new, even not necessarily anything related to original idea

 

I work for a company that manufactures hardware for sale here in UK. Those Chinese certificates do not pass UK or EU checks

 

I know that, still thousands of Chinese uncertified pieces with fake certificates are sold daily. Sometimes there is a problem, things are checked and they issue a callback of all those sold items.

It has happened many times for example with led lamps, that Chinese bring such products to market, they are pulled off and some big brand brings similar product on market later on.

I have had extension cord which was nicely CE certified and all that, Chinese just put sticker on it, later it was re-called by a shop as a dangerous, they don't really care there, manufacturer disappears in few years and new name puts out same stuff probably in same factory after that.

In Europe no one can do manufacturing like they do in China because all registers make sure you won't be a manufacturing stuff for long if doing it like they do, but it is different with them, it seems nobody really cares there anything else, but just to make as much sales in short time.

I have done some importing from China and it is always bit of surprise what you get, it is really crazy.

 

that smoke device would NEVER be allowed under CE laws it could be hazardous to young children....

 

Children, they always ruin a good fun

 

If you wanted to get a game banned in any country selling something like what your suggesting to it would be one of the ways Switzerland would ban it in 5 seconds!!

 

Beamng should directly sold cars at this point

 

I didn't know that BeamNG already had outgauge support, with that it indeed should be possible.

Just need to get Logitech excited about it now and soon everyone will have weird looking gadgets and smelly rooms, easy

 

smellivision
--- Post updated ---

I lol'd at the idea of a usb hookah.

 

If those are allowed to be sold, I'm sure there must be way to get something approved that uses for example similar scent ampules like some french cars use, think about how much value such market could gain, tire smoke scent ampules, radiator leak ampules, devices with 1, 2, 3 or more slots for different scents, upgrade paths, we are talking about multi billion dollar business when big industry players start realizing possibilities.

Yes, it's smellivision and it actually would be possible today

Probably it won't happen ever, but I think this is one of the crazy ridiculous ideas that actually might happen some day, some place.

Like all crazy things, like 3d displays, virtual reality glasses etc. they started some time, they were not that much, but there was enough potential market and today we have VR stuff like Oculus Rift, I think that at some point in future smell will be another step, but things have to happen right way, everything has to click.

It will be long until standards are created and mainstream games will have any hope of supporting such, but anything with OutSim, I guess it could happen and if it happens, perhaps other games might take steps.


With those candles, I would use metal trashcan, burn candle to fill trashcan with smoke/smell, then upon a crash etc, open lid by servo and start a fan so you would get instantly smells, of course lot of sealing etc needed.

Same way any scent release must be buffered. It could also be like CO2 canisters in air pistols, gas is measured to chamber and released upon trigger pull which sends pellet away.

Oh, how I wish I would have a working brain, engineering background and few million loose on pocket, there is so many crazy things to develop

 

I want to enjoy BeamNG, not have my nose feel like it was run over by a bus, burnt in one of @B727TheAirliner 's plane engines, then put in a blender with raw eggs and motor oil.