Marianna Obrist: Designing Smell, Touch & Taste — And the Future of Multisensory Technology

Join Sight and Emerging Tech Expert Samantha Wolfe as she interviews Marianna Obrist, Professor of Multisensory Interfaces at University College London. In this interview, they discuss the intersection of the five senses and how this impacts Marianna's ventures.Marianna Obrist is Professor of Multisensory Interfaces at University College London (UCL), where she pioneers research on touch, taste, and smell in human-computer interaction (HCI), with applications in virtual reality, healthcare, and wellbeing. Some of her recent projects include the EPSRC/NIHR Smell Care initiative on digital smell training, the EU FET Touchless.AI project on social interaction through contactless touch, and the UKRI Textile Circularity Centre on immersive textile experiences. Marianna is also co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Hynt Labs Limited, a spin-out developing digital scent technologies for personalised sleep solutions. She has authored over 100 publications in leading journals and conferences and co-wrote Multisensory Experiences: Where the Senses Meet Technology (Oxford University Press).