Scientists Built a Lollipop That Lets You Taste Movies
A team of scientists has invented a “lollipop” that can simulate tastes shown in virtual environments.
By stimulating suspended flavor chemicals with small amounts of voltage and functionally mixing them with the user’s saliva, the device can trigger the sensation of nine different tastes in the human mouth.
The initial goal is to supplement virtual reality experiences, but this tech could also have significant commercial and medical applications.
Do you remember that scene in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where the characters are able to reach through a screen, wrap their hands around a chocolate bar, pull it out, and eat it? Well, obviously, that tech doesn’t exist (yet). But according to a new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we just got a big step closer to being able to taste whatever we see on our screens.
A team of engineers recently developed a “lollipop” that can produce the sensation of a variety of flavors on your tongue. The goal is to eventually be able to take flavors that might run into in a virtual environment—say, a snack you forage in an open-world video game or a meal you create in a cooking simulation—and bring them to life for you to experience in the real world.
Currently, the offerings are limited—the prototype can currently produce nine flavors, including salt, sugar, citric acid (sour), passion fruit, green tea, cherry, milk, durian, and grapefruit. Some flavors are basic, and some a bit more out of the box, but all are simulated through the electrostimulation of those flavor molecules, which are housed in a substance called agarose gel. The “lollipop” sends a small amount of voltage to the pocket of gel with the desired chemical (more voltage equals more flavor), and that chemical is propelled to the surface of the lollipop to mix with your saliva and create the intended taste. The device also includes seven smell channels to further enhance the sense of taste triggered by the flavor chemicals.
This kind of electrostimulation was deemed the fastest and most condensable way to make taste happen without, well, food being present. If you’re trying to create a device capable of basically instantly producing a flavor you see referenced on a screen, it needs to act fast, it needs to come in a small package, and people need to want to use it. And when the team behind this device put their heads together to solve all of these problems at once, the result was this electro-pop—small, fast-acting, and lick-able.
While the intended target for this tech currently rests squarely on the virtual reality space, it’s not the only application experts consider possible for a hand-held flavor-simulating machine. For instance, medical scientists could use it to take a significant amount of human error out of certain testing processes used to diagnose conditions that involve diminished or altered senses of taste. Companies could also use it to allow people to taste food being advertised to them before purchasing.
But, for right now, this is all still very much a prototype, and the team still has a long way to go to bring their device into the practical world at large. So, we may not be on the cusp of reaching into our screens for a sample of chocolate, but we’re getting closer to TV taste-tests as we speak. Taste-O-Vision, here we come.
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