Scientists develop new device which enable users taste food in virtual reality

A group of scientists at the Ohio State University have developed a new “bio-integrated gustatory interface” device called “e-Taste,” which enables users to taste food in virtual reality.

The process works when ‘e-Taste’ analyzes food flavor profiles and tries to recreate them using a combination of chemicals, which is then poured through a gel.

There are three different stages that make up e-Taste. The first stage analyzes a food or beverage using a set of sensors to identify common components like glutamate and glucose that contribute to its distinct flavor.

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The five basic flavors of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami are represented by different combinations of these molecules. Following sample analysis, the data is encoded by the system and wirelessly sent to the e-Taste device.

However, Ohio State professor and study co-author Jinhua Li noted that chemical dimensions are still “relatively underrepresented” in virtual and augmented reality.

“It’s a gap that needs to be filled, and we’ve developed that with this,” Li said in a statement.

“Taste and smell are greatly related to human emotion and memory,” Li added. “So our sensor has to learn to capture, control, and store all that information.”

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