Wake Up and Smell Whatever You’d Like, With SensorWake

Imagine waking up to the smell of a fresh breakfast with bacon and orange juice. Or better yet, the smell of the seaside. Or better still, the smell of money. Well now, you can. With this olfactory alarm clock, the creators want you to wake up smelling, and feeling, the best.

SensorWake is the solution to 18-year-old Guillaume Rolland’s biggest problem at college – waking up. Succumbing to his comfy pillow and drowning out his blaring alarm clock, he was consistently late (and groggy due to the horrible noise). Knowing a solution was out there, Rolland came up with SensorWake, which scored a spot in the Top 15 at the Google Science Fair.

It may sound like science fiction, but it’s quite simple. Users set the time they’d like to wake up, insert a capsule with a scent of their choice, and are gently awoken within two minutes by the scent. To stop the scent, you simply press the stop button to shut off the alarm. For those with stuffy noses or horrible hay fever, there is an audio override, which works like a traditional alarm clock, if you don’t press the stop button within two minutes of the scent being released.

I can hear the skeptics already – “can you REALLY wake up from a scent?” According to preliminary testing and research conducted by Rolland and his team – yes, you can. They’ve teamed up with Givaudan, a leading fragrances company. The scents they use are designed to be gentle and safe for daily use but enough to wake you up with their unique diffusion system. The capsules comply with multiple international standards, use no allergens or solvents, and won’t leave a grimy residue on your furniture. Additionally, the capsules are 100% recyclable.

Now for the best part: the scents. The scent capsules come in packs of two and follow a theme. For instance, American Breakfast consists of bacon and orange juice while a Continental Breakfast is espresso and a hot croissant. There is a more relaxing Vitalization Aromatherapy pack with ginger and peppermint, or an interesting money scent with the VIP Lounge pack. Each capsule is easily placed into the device and will last you 60 awakenings. You can swap out different scents every night, or use each to exhaustion. Regardless, you’ll be waking up happily (until you remember it’s Monday).

The small device packs quite the punch in the technology department. In addition to the diffusion system, it has an LCD screen to show you how many awakenings remain on the capsule along with the time. Inside the device is an RFID system to properly ID the capsule you’re using. All of this is packed neatly into a white cube at only 85mm tall, 120mm long, and 80mm wide. Included in the box is a power adapter for US or EU outlets.

Those that were lucky enough to have backed the project will receive their SensorWakes this November. As for the rest of us, we’ll have to wait until 2016 but you can sign up for updates and pre-order here. SensorWake, along with a pack of two capsules, will cost around $120 (£78) and the refill capsule packs will be about $9 (£6).