# Image Generator An **image generator** is a device such as a planetarium, a hi-fi system or a spice rack, which can generate specifiable sensory input for the user: specified pictures, sounds, odors, and so on all count as ‘images’. For example, to generate the olfactory image (i.e. the smell) of vanilla, one opens the vanilla bottle from the spice rack. To generate the auditory image (i.e. the sound) of Mozart’s 20th piano concerto, one plays the corresponding compact disc on the hi-fi system. Any image generator is a rudimentary sort of [Virtual Reality](Virtual%20Reality.md) generator, but the term ‘virtual reality’ is usually reserved for cases where there is both a wide coverage of the user’s sensory range, and a substantial element of interaction (‘[kicking back](Dr%20Johnsons%20Criteria.md)’) between the user and the simulated entities. --- Date: 20241211 Links to: [5 - Virtual Reality](5%20-%20Virtual%20Reality.md) Tags: References: * []()