Pioneering device lets users remotely experience flavours<\/p>\n
From an ocean\u2019s depth to a distant planet\u2019s surface, we can immerse ourselves in many different experiences with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). But taste?<\/p>\n
Scientists at The Ohio State University (OSU) in the United States invented a device called e-Taste that lets you taste things without actually eating them. They presented their cutting-edge innovation in the journal \u2018Science Advances\u2019.<\/p>\n
The gadget looks like a small cube that measures about 15 mm on each side. It contains chemical sensors and wireless dispensers that capture and transmit taste data remotely in just seconds. Users can experience the five main taste categories: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaste and smell are greatly related to human emotion and memory,\u201d co-author Jinghua Li, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at OSU, told \u2018Popular Science\u2019. \u201cSo our sensor has to learn to capture, control, and store all that information.\u201d<\/p>\n
e-Taste is fastened to a thin plastic strip that you hold between your teeth, with the cube hanging outside. When the cube\u2019s sensors detect a food object in the virtual environment, e-Taste releases chemicals that simulate the five different tastes. You get the full taste experience \u2013 without needing to really eat anything. The cube has tiny refillable liquid chemical packs to generate the specific tastes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chemical dimension in the current VR and AR realm is relatively underrepresented, especially when we talk about olfaction and gustation,\u201d explained Li in an OSU news release. \u201cIt\u2019s a gap that needs to be filled, and we\u2019ve developed that with this next-generation system.\u201d<\/p>\n
A team of scientists tested the e-Taste system on volunteers. They were able to distinguish between different sour taste profile intensities in the liquids generated by the device with an overall accuracy rate of about 70%. In another trial, they were asked to distinguish between flavours mimicking lemonade, cake, fried egg, fish soup, and coffee. They did so with nearly 87% accuracy. The mixed outcomes aren\u2019t surprising, given that taste is inherently subjective and can change from one moment to the next.<\/p>\n
The study says that the device could benefit those with traumatic brain injuries or long COVID who have lost their sense of taste.<\/p>\n
e-Taste still has room for improvement. It can\u2019t replicate texture or temperature, and it depends on a small number of chemicals that don\u2019t completely capture the intricacies of real-life flavours.<\/p>\n
Perhaps even more importantly, will the public embrace this \u2018electronic tongue\u2019 in their day-to-day living?<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will help people connect in virtual spaces in never-before-seen ways,\u201d concluded Li. \u201cThis concept is here, and it is a good first step to becoming a small part of the metaverse.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pioneering device lets users remotely experience flavours From an ocean\u2019s depth to a distant planet\u2019s surface, we can immerse ourselves in many different experiences with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). But taste? Scientists at The Ohio State University (OSU) in the United States invented a device called e-Taste that lets you taste things\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_scj_primary_category_id":78,"_scj_featured":true,"_scj_featured_from":"","_scj_featured_until":"","_scj_featured_order":167,"_scj_visibility_class":"current","_scj_layout_family":"standard","_scj_article_style":"","_scj_display_overrides":[],"_scj_intro_image_id":19507,"_scj_intro_alt":"e-Taste device simulating virtual flavours","_scj_intro_caption":"","_scj_intro_class":"","_scj_intro_float":"","_scj_full_image_id":19507,"_scj_full_alt":"e-Taste device simulating virtual flavours","_scj_full_caption":"","_scj_full_class":"","_scj_full_float":"","_scj_media_type":"","_scj_media_provider":"","_scj_media_external_id":"","_scj_media_url":"","_scj_media_poster_id":0,"_scj_media_width":0,"_scj_media_height":0,"_scj_media_aspect_ratio":"","_scj_media_description":"","_scj_gallery_items":[],"_scj_related_post_ids":[],"_scj_additional_authors":[],"scj_layout_family":"standard","scj_media_provider":"","scj_media_url":"","scj_full_caption":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[2227,4517,2229,2228,265],"class_list":["post-19508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-tech","tag-augmented-reality","tag-food-tech","tag-metaverse","tag-sensory-science","tag-virtual-reality"],"yoast_head":"\n