Електронні льодяники / LiveScience
Do androids dream of electric lollipops? Virtual reality is about to get tastier, ready player one.
A small interface, similar to a lollipop, can mimic up to nine flavors and can even combine them with scents to make the taste experience realistic. Scientists presented the development in a study, published in the journal PNAS.
“There are actually five typical human senses, including sight, sound, tactile sensations, smell, and taste. To develop an immersive virtual reality experience for users, we hope to showcase all five senses to create a flawless virtual world, similar to the Oasis in the movie ‘Ready Player One’,” writes lead author Imin Liu, a biomedical engineering researcher from City University of Hong Kong and University of Tokyo.
The licking device contains small packets filled with gels. These gels contain chemicals which, when mixed with saliva, mimic various tastes. So far, they include salt, sugar, cherry, citric acid, green tea, passion fruit, grapefruit, durian, and milk. Each flavor is released only when a small electric current passes through each respective gel, and the amount released depends on the voltage. This means that multiple flavors can be mixed to create new sensations.
The team suggests that beyond gaming and other leisure activities, the device could have practical applications in taste testing of medicines, online grocery shopping, or even training.
This isn’t the first time researchers have tried to add taste to virtual reality. Other experimenters have explored directly applying aromatic chemicals to the tongue and stimulating with heat and electricity. This development offers a sufficiently accurate option with low-power consumption and a portable design. The technology is still under development and has limitations. For instance, currently, the gels only last for an hour of licking. The team plans to extend this duration and increase the number of available flavors.
Source: LiveScience