Get ready to be shocked… by the taste!
Homei Miyashita developed a lickable device that replicates different food tastes just by licking the apparatus. The Japanese researcher created the Norimaki Synthesizer, a rod-shaped device that uses five gel nodules made of dissolved electrolytes to simulate basic taste sensations (eg. sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami).
The Meiji University researcher and professor believe that his synthesizer opens new possibilities for human-computer interaction. The device could provide a new medium for multimedia experiences. Each of the gel nodules in the apparatus is made by dissolving sodium chloride, glycine, magnesium chloride, citric acid, and glutamic sodium in separate solutions. The electrolyte solutions are then turned into gel.
According to Miyashita, the user can taste all five tastes when they lick it with no voltage applied to the apparatus. "However, when an electric potential is applied, the cations (positively charged ions) in the gel move to the cathode side and away from the tongue, so that the flavor is tasted," he further explained.
Image via de zeen