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April 26, 2017 3:49 PM Subscribe
New Scientist reports that scientists in Singapore found a new way to taste the rainbow, by electronically transmitting the flavor and color of lemonade to a tumbler of water.
The technology hasn't been perfected yet, but its makers anticipate it will be used to share flavors through social media, or as an alternative to salt or sugar by people who need to limit their intake for health reasons. The work was presented at TEI 2017, the International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interactions. Scientist Nimesha Ranasinghe and his teams previously developed a virtual spoon and a digital lollipop.
The technology hasn't been perfected yet, but its makers anticipate it will be used to share flavors through social media, or as an alternative to salt or sugar by people who need to limit their intake for health reasons. The work was presented at TEI 2017, the International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interactions. Scientist Nimesha Ranasinghe and his teams previously developed a virtual spoon and a digital lollipop.
Abstract:
posted by demiurge at 4:04 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
This paper presents a novel methodology to digitally share the flavor experience of a glass of lemonade (or other similar beverages) remotely. The proposed method utilizes a sensor to capture valuable information (primarily, the color and the corresponding pH value) of the lemonade and a customized tumbler to virtually simulate these properties using plain water. Thus, the system consists of three main components: 1) the lemonade sensor, 2) the communication protocol, and 3) a customized tumbler, acting as the lemonade simulator. Initially, the sensor captures the color and the pH value of the lemonade and encodes this information based on an established communication protocol for wireless transmission. On receiving the information from the sensor, the lemonade simulator overlays the color of the drink on plain water using an RGB LED light and simulates sour taste sensations on the user's tongue via electrical stimulation. An experimental study was conducted to evaluate this novel approach of digitally teleporting a glass of lemonade: 1) to assess the pre-taste perceptions based on the user's visual perceptions of the colors (real vs. virtual lemonade) and 2) to assess the taste sensations (real vs. virtual lemonade). By simulating the experience of drinking a glass of lemonade through the digital reconstruction of the beverage's main visual and taste factors, the results from these experiments will be able to justify the feasibility of teleporting a glass of lemonade using this novel methodology.This looks like just a feasibility demonstration. I can't seem to find the full text of the conference talk, but it looks like they're just using electricity to make the water taste a bit sour. Not criticizing the research, but seems preliminary to get all this press.
posted by demiurge at 4:04 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
This is how the machines know what Tasty Wheat tasted like.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:09 PM on April 26, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 4:09 PM on April 26, 2017 [10 favorites]
Not criticizing the research, but seems preliminary to get all this press.
Most science news is overhyped. The Daily Mail will tell you next week whether this cures or causes cancer, then the week after, they will reverse their position. Then it will be a potential alzheimers cure.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:10 PM on April 26, 2017
Most science news is overhyped. The Daily Mail will tell you next week whether this cures or causes cancer, then the week after, they will reverse their position. Then it will be a potential alzheimers cure.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:10 PM on April 26, 2017
An electrode around the rim of the tumbler mimicked the sourness of the lemonade by stimulating the drinker’s taste buds with a pulse of electricity.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG, NOPE CAN'T SEE ANY PRANK POTENTIAL HERE AAAAH
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:10 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG, NOPE CAN'T SEE ANY PRANK POTENTIAL HERE AAAAH
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:10 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
No mention of smell, a major component of tasting. Wait, didn't we already try smell-o-net?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:12 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:12 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Why not just use the electricity to make the people really, really believe they are tasting lemonade?
posted by biffa at 4:16 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by biffa at 4:16 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
So they shone a light into some water and zapped people on the tongue with electricity. I'm sure I got the same effect at 19 trying to fix my car in the rain while holding a torch in my mouth. I just didn't have the nous to put out a press release.
Pretty much the poster child for 'move along, nothing to see here'.
posted by Devonian at 4:17 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Pretty much the poster child for 'move along, nothing to see here'.
posted by Devonian at 4:17 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Not criticizing the research, but seems preliminary to get all this press
That's pretty much science reporting's sweet spot, yeah.
posted by solotoro at 4:31 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
That's pretty much science reporting's sweet spot, yeah.
posted by solotoro at 4:31 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
As a layman, I found the idea of simulating a taste electronically to be pretty novel. I would love to be part of a test group to see if it is actually lemonade-y!
Tough crowd! I tried to frame the post closer on the continuum to "hey look at this neat thing from the science fair" and far away from "hold on to your hats, we basically have the Holodeck now." Could be I calibrated wrong. The scientists and the writer were pretty up front about the tech not being ready for market.
posted by prewar lemonade at 4:35 PM on April 26, 2017 [7 favorites]
Tough crowd! I tried to frame the post closer on the continuum to "hey look at this neat thing from the science fair" and far away from "hold on to your hats, we basically have the Holodeck now." Could be I calibrated wrong. The scientists and the writer were pretty up front about the tech not being ready for market.
posted by prewar lemonade at 4:35 PM on April 26, 2017 [7 favorites]
this is great! I'm counting down the days where I can send a loved one the smell of my fart, because why suffer alone?
posted by numaner at 4:35 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by numaner at 4:35 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
like to think this means I can make my screaming victims taste of lemon by running current through them. No, no, don't argue; let's see if it works.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:44 PM on April 26, 2017
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:44 PM on April 26, 2017
Call me when you nail Pinot Noir...
posted by bird internet at 4:44 PM on April 26, 2017
posted by bird internet at 4:44 PM on April 26, 2017
oh no the desire to drink lemonade has already been successfully transmitted to me
posted by CarolynG at 4:48 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by CarolynG at 4:48 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
Earl grey, hot.
posted by LarryC at 5:13 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by LarryC at 5:13 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
I am equal parts intrigued and troubled, mixed with two parts sugar and one part nine volt battery.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 6:09 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 6:09 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Use electricity to simulate a sweet taste. Many of us are familiar with the taste of 9-volts.
posted by user92371 at 6:31 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by user92371 at 6:31 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
All I see is that New Scientist mentions a shorter version of the article ran on April 1.
posted by Samizdata at 7:11 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Samizdata at 7:11 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why not just use the electricity to make the people really, really believe they are tasting lemonade?
Isn't that basically what they're doing?
posted by clockzero at 7:41 PM on April 26, 2017
Isn't that basically what they're doing?
posted by clockzero at 7:41 PM on April 26, 2017
But exactly how utterly unlike tea is it?
posted by Mchelly at 9:13 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 9:13 PM on April 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
Sweet! We've invented homeopathy. With science!
posted by Naberius at 9:22 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 9:22 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
Why not just use the electricity to make the people really, really believe they are tasting lemonade?
There are... FOUR... Crystal Lights!
posted by mordax at 9:27 PM on April 26, 2017 [10 favorites]
There are... FOUR... Crystal Lights!
posted by mordax at 9:27 PM on April 26, 2017 [10 favorites]
Earl grey, hot.
More like almost, but not quite entirely, unlike lemonade.
posted by Dr Dracator at 10:11 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
More like almost, but not quite entirely, unlike lemonade.
posted by Dr Dracator at 10:11 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
We've invented homeopathy. With science!
I opened that link in a tab and by the time I got around to it I had forgotten what it was about. My first impression was that it was a complex guitar pedal, and the copy sorta fit that idea:
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:14 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I opened that link in a tab and by the time I got around to it I had forgotten what it was about. My first impression was that it was a complex guitar pedal, and the copy sorta fit that idea:
The Libra Mark 3, is a 12-dial electronic version of the non-powered Bionetix remedy maker with added features to give better and more powerful results. It uses energy vibrations which are processed and amplified by a microprocessor which sends signals to the plates for a better output.Like, it makes remedies for bad tone, right? Then the penny dropped and I had my WTF moment. A+++ mindfuck, would do again
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:14 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I guess it's true for anything, but this gonna be appropriated for fetish purposes for sure.
posted by Gymnopedist at 10:18 PM on April 26, 2017
posted by Gymnopedist at 10:18 PM on April 26, 2017
So, let me get this right...
Teledildonics for the urolagnia crowd?
posted by Samizdata at 1:43 AM on April 27, 2017
Teledildonics for the urolagnia crowd?
posted by Samizdata at 1:43 AM on April 27, 2017
Thirty comments in and no one has noticed the wistfully eponyhisterical nature of this post & poster?
posted by chavenet at 2:10 AM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 2:10 AM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Well you know what they say - when life gives you lemons, electronically stimulate someone's tongue to artificially reproduce the sourness of citric acid.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:29 AM on April 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:29 AM on April 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Well played Beyoncé, well played.
posted by CheeseLouise at 5:51 AM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by CheeseLouise at 5:51 AM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
1) the lemonade sensor, 2) the communication protocol, and 3) a customized tumbler, acting as the lemonade simulator
They should have sent a poet
posted by overeducated_alligator at 6:15 AM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
They should have sent a poet
posted by overeducated_alligator at 6:15 AM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!
posted by Segundus at 7:31 AM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Segundus at 7:31 AM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
The scientists and the writer were pretty up front about the tech not being ready for market.
No problem with the post, but the article is really bad. The issue is not just it's "not ready for market." It's that there is no path to do more than they've done following the same lines. At least as far as I can tell.
You can fiddle with pH to make things sour, and water has all the things necessary to provide "low pH chemical matter" (which is just water.) So this is technically the "main taste sensation" of lemonade. So yeah, glass of water and electricity.
But flavors don't work that way. You need to hit far more specific chemical sensors in the nose. So to do this with this approach you'd need to make organic (carbon-containing) chemicals out of water and electricity, which is not so much "years away" as "impossible".
If you imagine a machine that actually did simulate flavors, it'd basically boil down to having the molecules you need in tiny repositories and releasing them dynamically in the right proportion based on some exceptionally fine (and not yet existing) sensor from the input. The challenges of which are completely and totally different than this example.
So the article claiming The current system is not yet able to transmit the full flavour profile of a drink is not skeptical or cautious. It's full of crap and totally misleading.
posted by mark k at 7:46 AM on April 27, 2017
No problem with the post, but the article is really bad. The issue is not just it's "not ready for market." It's that there is no path to do more than they've done following the same lines. At least as far as I can tell.
You can fiddle with pH to make things sour, and water has all the things necessary to provide "low pH chemical matter" (which is just water.) So this is technically the "main taste sensation" of lemonade. So yeah, glass of water and electricity.
But flavors don't work that way. You need to hit far more specific chemical sensors in the nose. So to do this with this approach you'd need to make organic (carbon-containing) chemicals out of water and electricity, which is not so much "years away" as "impossible".
If you imagine a machine that actually did simulate flavors, it'd basically boil down to having the molecules you need in tiny repositories and releasing them dynamically in the right proportion based on some exceptionally fine (and not yet existing) sensor from the input. The challenges of which are completely and totally different than this example.
So the article claiming The current system is not yet able to transmit the full flavour profile of a drink is not skeptical or cautious. It's full of crap and totally misleading.
posted by mark k at 7:46 AM on April 27, 2017
Did anyone see the line about the potential for people to drink virtual soda without the calories?
Sure, a great way to drink water, but does that mean we'd purchase drink subscriptions? Being able to charge for CokeVR vs using real physical cost items, basically charging us for our own water + tech. Would that mean increases on real items? Less stock, less storage, less delivery. What other permutations?
posted by dreamling at 7:53 AM on April 27, 2017
Sure, a great way to drink water, but does that mean we'd purchase drink subscriptions? Being able to charge for CokeVR vs using real physical cost items, basically charging us for our own water + tech. Would that mean increases on real items? Less stock, less storage, less delivery. What other permutations?
posted by dreamling at 7:53 AM on April 27, 2017
If you imagine a machine that actually did simulate flavors, it'd basically boil down to having the molecules you need in tiny repositories and releasing them dynamically in the right proportion based on some exceptionally fine (and not yet existing) sensor from the input. The challenges of which are completely and totally different than this example.
What about that guy who said that scent was actually triggered by quantum tunneling? If his theory is true (not that many people believe him), could it be possible? His argument includes the assertion that there aren't a zillion aroma-specific molecules, but rather much simpler structures.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 8:21 AM on April 27, 2017
What about that guy who said that scent was actually triggered by quantum tunneling? If his theory is true (not that many people believe him), could it be possible? His argument includes the assertion that there aren't a zillion aroma-specific molecules, but rather much simpler structures.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 8:21 AM on April 27, 2017
Did anyone see the line about the potential for people to drink virtual soda without the calories?
Sure, a great way to drink water, but does that mean we'd purchase drink subscriptions? Being able to charge for CokeVR vs using real physical cost items, basically charging us for our own water + tech. Would that mean increases on real items? Less stock, less storage, less delivery. What other permutations?
Just imagine the profit margin then, seeing as it's already like a million percent on fountain drinks...
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:41 AM on April 27, 2017
Sure, a great way to drink water, but does that mean we'd purchase drink subscriptions? Being able to charge for CokeVR vs using real physical cost items, basically charging us for our own water + tech. Would that mean increases on real items? Less stock, less storage, less delivery. What other permutations?
Just imagine the profit margin then, seeing as it's already like a million percent on fountain drinks...
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:41 AM on April 27, 2017
What about that guy who said that scent was actually triggered by quantum tunneling? If his theory is true (not that many people believe him), could it be possible? His argument includes the assertion that there aren't a zillion aroma-specific molecules, but rather much simpler structures.
It's actually pretty irrelevant in this context. We know pretty well what types of motifs cause what scents--esters are fruity, even numbered alcohols (except ethanol) smell rotten, phenols have this distinctive sweet-tar smell, and so on. Whether they trigger olfactory receptors one way or another doesn't change much in terms of understanding what molecules trigger certain scent perceptions.
But regardless of those details: a machine that releases specific chemicals to mimic a complex flavor that I described might be possible, but this invention is not a step on that path. It's not analyzing that type of molecules you need on the transmitter end and even if it were putting electricity and LED's in water has zero chance of ever producing them on the receiver end.
(Side note: There are definitely zillions of molecules that would trigger an aroma, as everything I mentioned and more has amazing numbers of ways they can fit on even a small molecular weight compound. The number of olfactory receptors that exist is probably less clear but there are ~400 expressed genes according to wiki.)
posted by mark k at 10:40 PM on April 27, 2017
It's actually pretty irrelevant in this context. We know pretty well what types of motifs cause what scents--esters are fruity, even numbered alcohols (except ethanol) smell rotten, phenols have this distinctive sweet-tar smell, and so on. Whether they trigger olfactory receptors one way or another doesn't change much in terms of understanding what molecules trigger certain scent perceptions.
But regardless of those details: a machine that releases specific chemicals to mimic a complex flavor that I described might be possible, but this invention is not a step on that path. It's not analyzing that type of molecules you need on the transmitter end and even if it were putting electricity and LED's in water has zero chance of ever producing them on the receiver end.
(Side note: There are definitely zillions of molecules that would trigger an aroma, as everything I mentioned and more has amazing numbers of ways they can fit on even a small molecular weight compound. The number of olfactory receptors that exist is probably less clear but there are ~400 expressed genes according to wiki.)
posted by mark k at 10:40 PM on April 27, 2017
GenjiandProust: "like to think this means I can make my screaming victims taste of lemon by running current through them. No, no, don't argue; let's see if it works."
It took me half a lifetime to invent it. I'm sure you've discovered my deep and abiding interest in pain. Presently I'm writing the definitive work on the subject, so I want you to be totally honest with me on how the machine makes you feel. This being our first try, I'll use the lowest setting.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:32 PM on April 28, 2017
It took me half a lifetime to invent it. I'm sure you've discovered my deep and abiding interest in pain. Presently I'm writing the definitive work on the subject, so I want you to be totally honest with me on how the machine makes you feel. This being our first try, I'll use the lowest setting.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:32 PM on April 28, 2017
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posted by Oyéah at 4:02 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]