Osmo Authenticates Products Using AI Smell

A startup called Osmo has created an AI-powered machine that uses scent to authenticate products, like sneakers and bags.

The Big Whiff: Dupe products have flooded the luxury market as secondary sales have soared. Finding a way to keep them out of the marketplace before they can reach consumers (something resellers spend a lot of money on) is necessary for the integrity of the industry.

Between The Scents: Osmo wants to smell your shoes… or, at least, all the unique fibers, materials, and glues that make your shoe the genuine article.

• Osmo’s machine “sniffs” shoes and other products to verify their unique scent signature created by the mix of raw materials and chemicals that make up the product — something humans at marketplaces like StockX already do.
• Fake sellers typically use cheaper materials to build their knockoffs, so the scent is different — a pilot test by Osmo was able to determine reals from fakes 95% of the time accurately.

Future Fragrance: Like anything AI, Osmo is only as good as the data it’s trained on, so it’s better at recognizing products that it’s had plenty of exposure to, as opposed to a rare item where only a few may have been manufactured.

So, some brands, such as LVMH’s Patou, are adding a custom scent into their items, so that they can be authenticated at scale — a “digital fingerprint,” according to Business of Fashion. Don’t be surprised if the practice becomes standard for the entire luxury industry… a service that Osmo also offers.