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Sensory Acumen, Inc. To Debut Olfactory Game Peripheral Device, GameSkunk, at GDC 2011

GameSkunk provides next level game play for serious games and serious gamers

Release: Tuesday, Wednesday, March 2, 2011, Orinda, CA, Sensory Acumen, Inc., a company engaged in the development and deployment of technologies that will enhance the consumer experience in emerging areas like mobility and interactive media, today announced the debut of a game peripheral device, GameSkunk™, which delivers a scent based on game play at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2011 in San Francisco, CA. Targeted at all genres of games, including family, hard core, serious, action, cooking and others, it is based on the premise that scent is emotional and is either immersive or evokes memory.

This device has dual purposes; because scent is emotional, emotions are felt with fun and serious game play. Mental researchers, psychologists, and training experts use serious games for virtual reality treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, autism, stroke, attention-deficit disorder, Alzheimer’s disease as well as combat training exercises. “Scent is a key sensory stimulus that provides input to areas of the brain that have been implicated as relevant for both memory and emotion. Thus, better scent delivery systems could enhance the user experience and immersive properties of serious games and virtual reality simulations that have been found to be useful in both clinical practice and research” said Albert “Skip” Rizzo, Ph.D., associate director - Institute for Creative Technologies, University of Southern California. The evolution of computer gaming, computer simulated training, and interactive programming technologies have created an infrastructure wherein olfactory feedback systems are economically and technically feasible.

During the Game Developers Conference, Sensory Acumen will demonstrate the device and some of the scents from an evolving scent library in booth number 736. The library includes specialized clinical scents, but is not limited to the clinical market as scent is universal and though someone may experience a scent in special circumstances, every day life also experiences some of those same scents and more.

The many genres of games have one thing in common. The gamer is engrossed in an activity and activities are related to senses, e.g. touch of the controller, see the visual, hearing the soundtrack, and you can’t taste it yet, but you can smell it. “We provide code for engines that will allow game developers to integrate the functionality of GameSkunk and its scent library into educational, training, sports, adventure, simulation, strategy, and other game genres. ”, says Founder & CEO Charlene Coleman, as technology allows users to become more engaged, we will see more add-ons for an immersive game play experience.

Recently, Sensory Acumen was selected to be an exhibitor at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Tweetup on Friday, January 7, 2011. Tech Cocktail worked with CEA on the innovation showcase of the top innovative companies at CES 2011. During the Tweetup, exhibitors presented and demonstrated their products to the 600 attendees, while attendees tweeted. The company’s twitter account is @sensoryacumen. Other social media links are on Facebook, the company page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sensory-Acumen-Inc/113718208647651 and our PTSD support pagehttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=334042096428.

About Sensory Acumen, Inc.

Sensory Acumen, Inc. is a California based privately held corporation engaged in the development and deployment of disruptive technologies that will enhance the consumer experience in emerging areas like mobility and interactive media. Sensory Acumen was founded on electrical engineering expertise with members having past experience in consumer electronics. Our mission is to deliver exceptional experiences to the end user, emerge as the leading developer of next generation technological innovations for consumer devices based on a sustainable business model, leverage a passion for delivering the experience, and leverage existing technological innovations to deliver mash-up capabilities that provide seamless processes. We provide engaging consumer electronics and related services to the end user as well as OEM to related product manufacturers. The company is a member of the Clearwire WiMAX Developer Program. http://www.sensoryacumen.com

© 2011 Sensory Acumen, Inc. GameSkunk is a trademark of Sensory Acumen, Inc.