Revolutionising Medical Diagnostics: Osmo Smell Detector AI May Be Coming Soon

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made remarkable strides in mimicking human senses, particularly sight and hearing. Now, a pioneering startup named Osmo is taking on the challenge of digitising another sense: smell. At the helm of this ambitious venture is Alex Wiltschko, CEO and co-founder of Osmo, whose lifelong fascination with olfactory science is driving this cutting-edge innovation.

A Lifelong Obsession with Smell

For Wiltschko, the sense of smell has always been more than just a curiosity—it’s a passion. His academic journey reflects this deep interest, as he earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Michigan and later pursued a Ph.D. in olfactory neuroscience at Harvard University. This expertise paved the way for his role as a research scientist at Google Research, where he spent five years leading a team dedicated to teaching computers how to predict scents based on molecular structures.

Osmo originated as a research project during Wiltschko’s tenure at Google, but in 2022, it evolved into an independent startup with support from Lux Capital and Google Ventures. The company’s mission is ambitious: to enhance human health and happiness by giving computers the ability to generate and recognise smells, much like how they already process images and sounds.

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One might wonder, why is it important for computers to have the ability to smell? Wiltschko told CNBC Make It that AI-driven scent detection could revolutionise medical diagnostics, enabling the early detection of diseases through scent—a method that has been used by humans for centuries. But that’s not all. In the immediate future, Osmo aims to create safer and more sustainable fragrances for everyday products like perfumes, shampoos, and even insect repellents.

Osmo’s journey into the world of digital scent began with the development of a “principal odour map” at Google Research. By training an AI model on a dataset of 5,000 aroma molecules, the team was able to predict how different molecules would smell with superhuman accuracy. This breakthrough laid the foundation for Osmo’s current technology, which uses graph neural networks (GNNs) to understand molecular structures and predict their associated odours.

The Future of Digital Scent

Looking ahead, Wiltschko has even more ambitious plans for Osmo’s technology. One of the most exciting possibilities is the ability to “teleport” scents by digitising a smell in one location and recreating it perfectly in another. This would not only demonstrate the AI’s deep understanding of scent but could also open up new possibilities in various industries.

While the immediate applications of Osmo’s technology are focused on consumer products, the long-term vision remains firmly rooted in healthcare. Wiltschko envisions a future where AI can detect diseases through scent, potentially enabling earlier diagnoses and better patient outcomes. Although this breakthrough may still be years away, Osmo is laying the groundwork for a future where AI plays a crucial role in healthcare.

“We will eventually be able to detect disease with scent,” Wiltschko asserts. “It’s not going to happen this year or anytime soon, but we’re on our way.”

As Osmo continues to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve, the world watches with anticipation. If successful, the company could not only revolutionise industries but also change the way we understand and interact with the world through one of our most mysterious senses.

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