A digital lollipop is an electronic device that synthesizes
virtual taste
Gustatory technology is the engineering discipline dealing with gustatory representation.
Description
Virtual taste refers to a taste experience generated by a digital taste simulator. Electrodes are used to simulate the taste and feel of real ...
s by stimulating the human tongue with electric currents. The device can produce four primary tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Digital lollipops were developed through research led by Nimesha Ranasinghe at the
National University of Singapore.
Design
According to Ranasinghe, "The system can manipulate the properties of electric currents (magnitude, frequency, and polarity: inverse current) to formulate different stimuli. Currently, we are conducting experiments to analyze regional differences of the human tongue for electrical stimulation."
The devices generate
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
signals through a sliver electrode, stimulating the tongue's taste receptors to emulate the major taste components. It also produces small, varying amounts of heat to simulate food.
Eventually, the digital lollipop could aid
Alzheimer's patients by helping them "either enhance or suppress certain senses". It may also allow people with
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
to experience sweetness without increasing their blood sugar levels.
The National University of Singapore research team is developing Taste Over Internet Protocol (TOIP) that would allow taste information to be communicated between locations.
See also
*
Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...
*
Gustatory technology
Gustatory technology is the engineering discipline dealing with gustatory representation.
Description
Virtual taste refers to a taste experience generated by a digital taste simulator. Electrodes are used to simulate the taste and feel of real ...
References
Further reading
* Nimesha Ranasinghe, Hideaki Nii, Adrian Cheok, Ryohei Nakatsu, Ponnampalam Gopalakrishnakone, ''Digital Taste Lollipop: Studying Electrical Stimulation on Human Tongue to Simulate the Sensation of Taste'', International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (Elsevier), Jan 2013
* Nimesha Ranasinghe, Ryohei Nakatsu, Nii Hideaki, and Ponnampalam Gopalakrishnakone, ''Tongue Mounted Interface for Digitally Actuating the Sense of Taste'', in Proceedings of the 16th
International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC), June 2012, pp. 80–87. , {{ISSN, 1550-4816
External links
Digital lollipop at Nimesha Ranasinghe's websiteVideo of the digital lollipop in use
Digital electronics
Flavor technology