REAL LIFE NEWS: DIGITAL TASTES
by Hazed
Catching up on back issues of New Scientist magazine that I have allowed to pile up, I find a story from November last year about an electrode that can simulate the sensation of different tastes.
As a result, those using VR helmets to play games or experience virtual worlds could actually taste the food or drink they are munching or quaffing as part of the roleplaying.
The taste simulator was developed by a team at the National University of Singapore. It is an electrode which transmits signals by touching the tip of the tongue, and which fools the taste receptors into thinking it can taste the four well-known taste flavours of salt, sweet, sour and bitter, by varying the current and the temperature.
It’s apparently a bit clunky at the moment but a redesign could make it less invasive so it can contact the tongue even when the user’s mouth is almost closed.
This has many implications, not just for gameplay. How about a way to experience what a recipe is supposed to taste like, to help you get the same results? Or in the field of healthcare, those with diabetes could use it to get a virtual hit of sugar taste without causing blood sugar levels to spike; or cancer patients could use it to replace the sense of taste often damaged by chemotherapy.
So maybe one day when you buy a pizza from Chez Diesel, you will really be able to taste the moose.
