A Japanese university professor has developed a screen prototype called Taste The TV (TTTV). The latter can be licked in order to taste certain flavors. The system integrates around ten aromas which are associated to create the different tastes. A nozzle projects the mixture onto a plastic film placed on the screen. All it takes is a lick of the tongue to appreciate the flavor.
An electronic system today only transmits signals for two of our senses: view, thanks to the screens, as well as hearing, thanks to the speakers. For a long time, researchers have been working on systems capable of making other senses interact. In 2020, we reported the creation by Google of a virtual keyboard for Android based on Braille standards. And this is just one example among many.
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Beyond accessibility work to alleviate disabilities, many works also concern the transmission of signals for the senses other than touch. Smells and flavors, for example. Of course, creating a system that turns a flavor into digital information is not enough to convey it to a user. The recipient must also be equipped with a device that translates the information into taste.
A screen that can be licked to taste food from a distance
Homei Miyashita is a Japanese professor at the prestigious Meiji University, Tokyo. With around thirty of his students, he has developed a system that allows you to taste artificial flavors created from digital information. The system is called TTV, acronym of Taste The TV (“Taste the TV”). And, as the name suggests, it offers the ability to feel the flavor. The system consists of a screen on which a transparent hygienic film is positioned and a device containing ten nozzles with 10 different flavors.
The system will mix the flavors of the 10 nozzles by projecting them onto the plastic film above the screen. It is then enough to give a little lick of the tongue on it to feel the taste. The creator of TTTV explains that this technology could have several applications: fun (games, blind quizzes, etc.), educational (distance courses for sommeliers, cooks) and even commercial (being able to taste a dish at distance before ordering it, for example).
The above video (in Japanese) was filmed during the Digital Content Expo in November 2021. TTTV is now a prototype. But the scientist claims that a commercial version would not be overpriced : 100,000 yen approximately, or approximately 770 euros. Of course, then you have to buy the aromas, etc. Like a wholesale printer. Would you be interested in a similar technology for tasting flavors? Go to the comments to continue the discussion.
Source: Reuters
