AI Can Now Authenticate Sneakers by Their Smell

Your sneakers smell, though not in the way you might be thinking.

Even new, unworn shoes have a scent that emanates from their materials — leather and fibres in the upper, foam in the midsole, rubber in the outsoles, the glue holding it all together.

Osmo, a start-up that uses AI to map and create scents, believes these olfactory signatures are the key to being able to tell authentic shoes from fakes. If it’s right, it could provide a powerful new weapon to the resale industry, which…