No mentions about visual expressions of scents by real-time analysis or systematic encoding of a great number of scents are made in common techniques. A database unit stores scent data classified into major scent components and minor scent components according to the quantified amounts of scent chemical components. A scent analysis unit quantifies scent chemical components of a predetermined scented material based on scent data in the database unit with higher similarity to the scent chemical components. An encoding unit classifies the quantified scent chemical components of the predetermined scented material into a major scent component and a minor scent component according to the quantified amounts of the scent chemical components of the predetermined scented material and converts the amounts of the major scent component and the minor scent component into gray scale values. Therefore, olfactory information can be visually expressed and transmitted via communication network.
OLFACTORY INFORMATION ENCODING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND SCENT CODE GENERATING APPARATUS AND METHOD