New technology allows tasting food in the virtual world

A new device can recreate food flavors in virtual reality by spraying chemicals onto the user's tongue.

Taste the cake in virtual space

Imagine seeing a piece of cake in a virtual world and being able to taste it. Researchers have gotten closer to that vision with a device that can create virtual flavors by spraying chemicals onto the tongue.

The system, called “e-Taste,” can detect chemicals in food and transmit this information wirelessly to a device that then delivers the same chemicals to the user’s tongue. By combining different chemicals, the device can recreate a variety of flavors from pastries to coffee, according to a report published on February 28 in the journal Science Advances.

“This is a major step toward the next generation of human-machine interfaces and virtual reality,” said Yizhen Jia, a materials engineer at Ohio State University.

The technology behind virtual flavors

The system uses five edible chemicals: glucose for sweetness, citric acid for sourness, sodium chloride for saltiness, magnesium chloride for bitterness, and glutamate for umami (savory). The chemicals are mixed into a gel inside the device and blended in microchannels. An electromagnetic pump delivers the mixture to the tongue through a flexible, ribbon-like tube placed in the mouth.

To evaluate the e-Taste, Jia and colleagues had 10 participants differentiate between five different levels of sourness produced by the device. The team then created five complex flavors—lemonade, cake, fried egg, fish soup, and coffee—based on their chemical composition. Six participants were trained to recognize these flavors, achieving an overall accuracy of nearly 87%. Some flavors, like lemonade and cake, were easier to recognize than others, like fried egg.

Challenges and prospects

Previous attempts have attempted to simulate taste by electrically stimulating the tongue, but the method is not yet well understood. “We don’t fully understand how the tongue works and how it perceives taste. Taste and smell, as chemical sensors, are very difficult to replicate,” says Nimesha Ranasinghe, a computer scientist at the University of Maine at Orono, who was not involved in the research. For now, using chemicals can produce a wider variety of tastes than electrical stimulation.

Taste alone, however, is not enough. “Real coffee comes with the aroma and the feel of coffee. Simply putting chemicals on your tongue cannot compare to the actual experience,” Jia said.

To overcome this, Jia and colleagues are working to integrate the sense of smell using gas sensors and machine learning. The team is aiming for applications in virtual reality gaming and even sensory restoration, such as for people who have lost their sense of taste due to COVID.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle is how willing people are to wear a device that sprays chemicals onto their tongues. “We’re very cautious about putting anything in our mouths. The look, feel, and comfort are important. This is a key area that people need to explore in the future,” Ranasinghe says.

According to Thanh Tung/VNA

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/cong-nghe/cong-nghe-moi-cho-phep-nem-thuc-an-trong-the-gioi-ao/20250303080147472