What it does
Smell Guardian uses distributed sensors to detect household odours and alerts users to risks like gas leaks, spoiled food, or mold. It offers visual odour maps, AI suggestions, and portable detection to trace odor sources and components.
Your inspiration
This idea originated from a teammate's neighbour, who developed a loss of smell after contracting COVID-19. At first, he noticed that food tasted bland, and later he was unable to detect gas leaks in the kitchen and spoiled food, which nearly caused an accident. This made us realise the potential risks of the loss of smell. Research data shows that approximately 20% of people suffer from some degree of olfactory dysfunction, and this problem becomes more severe with age. There are few smart home devices on the market that cater to the needs of people with olfactory dysfunction, which prompted us to design products focus on smell.
How it works
Smell Guardian includes odour sensors, a home base, and a handheld detector. It uses distributed sensors to detect harmful odours in key areas such as kitchens and bathrooms in real time and transmits the data to a central terminal for processing. The system alerts users through colour indicators, audio alarms and automatic safety measures (such as closing gas valves). Handheld detectors provide odour radar maps to help locate odours and offer AI recommendations. The built-in AI assistant ‘Nosy’ can answer users' questions about odours. The emergency interface records alerts, supports quick contact with emergency services, and enables one-click gas shut-off. The overall system allows users to ‘see and understand’ invisible odours, enhancing home safety and autonomy.
Design process
Our design process began with a personal and observational inquiry. To better understand the impact of olfactory disorders, we interviewed elderly individuals, post-COVID patients, caregivers. Key pain points emerged: 1.Inability to detect danger (e.g., gas, smoke) 2.Challenges with hygiene and food freshness 3.Emotional stress and social discomfort 4.Lack of tailored smart home support Home visits revealed that users preferred subtle, integrated assistance that empowers rather than stigmatizes. This led us to avoid medical-looking designs and focus on warm, intuitive interactions. We then ideated system concepts that could enhance environmental awareness using real-time sensing and AI feedback which turn invisible smells into visible and actionable cues. Early prototypes included room-based odour sensors linked to a central terminal display. Based on feedback, we improved readability through color-coded visuals map, AI tips, and voice alerts. We also built a handheld detector for odor tracing, and a mobile app for remote safety monitoring by users and caregivers. These elements came together in our final design: the Smell Guardian smart home system.
How it is different
Unlike most smart home systems that rely on visual or audio cues, Smell Guardian addresses a long-overlooked sense — smell. It’s designed for people with olfactory impairments to detect hidden risks like gas leaks, spoiled food, and unpleasant odors. Powered by odor sensors chip and AI, the system identifies smells in real time (e.g., sour, rotten, chemical) and delivers multi-sensory alerts through visual heatmaps and voice notifications. A handheld detector helps users locate specific odor sources. Unlike tradictional gas alarms, Smell Guardian provides AI-driven suggestions, such as ventilating a room or checking the fridge. Guiding users toward safe actions. Its user-friendly design supports independent living, especially for elderlys. The system also enables remote monitoring for family members or caregivers, offering a proactive and inclusive solution for home safety.
Future plans
In the future, we hope to make our product as affordable and accessible as possible, improving the living safety quality and safety of low-income elderly people groups. To achieve this, we plan to launch a few collaboration projects with smart home manufacturer, to further develop and bring this product to mass production. Hopefully, we can reduce home safety issues significantly, raise public awareness of the safety hazards posed by olfactory disorders and encourage smart home developers to pay attention to the needs of this special group of people.
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