5 ms·
This works on "tastes" at the lowest level definition of "taste", in other words tongue sensations. But what we think of as "taste" is actually a combination of
by rladd 6y ago
This works on "tastes" at the lowest level definition of "taste", in other words tongue sensations. But what we think of as "taste" is actually a combination of this and of smell or aroma.
Smell is much more complex and relies on detection of the shape of the particles by the olfactory receptors (see: http://cst.ufl.edu/taste-vs-flavor-whats-the-difference.html http://cst.ufl.edu/taste-vs-flavor-whats-the-difference.html).
It could be possible to simulate different aromas with a fairly small number of scent molecules, and there has been some work in that direction (see: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227512326_Aroma_simulation_on_the_basis_of_the_odourant_composition_of_roasted_coffee_headspace https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227512326_Aroma_sim...), but no successful commercial product has ever been launched (that I'm aware of) based on this technologly.
So while interesting, this 'taste synthesizer' and anything like it is not going to enable anyone to taste anything that really tastes like a food.
- dogma1138 6y agoIsn’t John Carmack working on smell for VR? That said I wonder what would come first these external stimuli emulator or a neural link, by passing the external sensor seems to be the most straightforward way even if it’s much more complex on paper.
- cjhveal 6y agoIt's my guess that early brain-machine interface is going to require a fair amount of training and conditioning to interpret information across the interface. I think attempting to locate, isolate, and stimulate specific nerves that carry these sensation is going to be way more difficult than just exciting the receptors at the ends of those nerves. I'd anticipate "displays" emulating external stimuli preceding brain-machine interfaces.
- 01100011 6y agoYou could have a bank of carboxylic acids and various alcohols and perform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Speier_esterification https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Speier_esterif... on the fly perhaps... You can make a good number of scents that way.
- bigiain 6y agoDamn, so you're saying this isn't gonna be smellovision?
- ismellcomment 6y ago> but no successful commercial product has ever been launched (that I'm aware of) based on this technologly iSmell is the closest that I know of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISmell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISmell