We're used to measuring our digital devices by how fast they are, how clear the sound is, how crisp the display is, how large the storage capacity is.Some day soon, if Homei Miyashita has his way, we may measure them by how delicious they are.The Meiji University researcher has developed a handheld "lickable screen" device that, when inserted into your mouth, can recreate all taste sensations associated with food.The device relies on electrolytes inserted into five gels controlling the intensity of the five basic flavours: sour, sweet, bitter, salt and umami. The lesser-known term umami, derived from the Japanese word for a pleasant savory taste, was added to the basic tastes group relatively recently, in 1990.The process employs electrophoresis, the migration of microscopic particles activated by an electric charge. When the five-tube device touches the tongue, the subject perceives all five taste sensations. But when variously measured electrical charges are applied (in low enough voltage to do no harm), some tastes can be heightened while others recede.Miyashita compared the manipulation of taste perception to our perceptions of images on video monitors. Our eyes view beautiful images on the screen, but in fact they are merely a series of continuously pulsating red, green and blue pixels of varying combinations and intensities.
"Like an optical display that uses lights of three basic colors to produce arbitrary colors," Miyashita said in his research paper published on the Meiji University web site, "this display can synthesize and distribute arbitrary tastes together with the data acquired by taste sensors." He termed his device the Norimaki Synthesizer. Norimaki are a type of seaweed wrapped around sushi. In fact, in one of his experiments, Miyashita enhanced the subject's experience by wrapping the synthesizer in dried seaweed as he boosted the salt and sour tastes to more closely mimic the sensation of consuming sushi.The synthesizer, Miyashita said, "has allowed users to experience the flavor of everything from gummy candy to sushi without having to place a single item of food in their mouths."
The concept promises great pleasure to passengers on no-frills flights, for instance, who could enjoy a flavorful virtual steak or ice-cream sundae with no muss and no fuss. Of course, when and if it is introduced into the general population, early pioneers may well draw curious stares from neighboring passengers if they whip out their computer devices and start licking them.But aside from its entertainment value, the Norimaki Synthesizer may prove to be an invaluable tool for those working on weight management. Others, for example, such as those with hypertension who must restrict salt intake, might combine real food while employing the device that adds virtual salt to their heart's content.