Scientists develop a device with which they can try video games

Imagine you slide onto a VR headset and see yourself in front of a beautiful ice cream. With your motion controllers you eat a large spoon of this vanilla ice cream – and although you cannot feel the cold in your mouth, you can taste your familiar sweetness on your lower teeth thanks to a remote taste.

While this may appear like a device directly from a science fiction film, a team of international researchers has actually developed a new human-machine interface (HMI) with which users can try virtual flavors. The device is aptly referred to as the E button and sets salty, acidic, sweet, bitter and Umami chemicals directly into the user's mouth, in response to remote stimuli. As in a study published in the magazine today Science progressE-button could have a variety of applications, from video games to weight management.

According to a statement by the American Association, the further development of science, the taste is one of the most difficult sense for machines that can simulate in virtual and expanded reality. However, 16 human users in the study confirmed that the E-key confirmed the taste-and the taste combinations such as the successfully reproduced and also taste in different intensities.

The device uses NACL (salt) for salty flavors; Citric acid for sour; Glucose (a kind of sugar) for sweet; MGCL2 (a kind of bitter salt) for – you suspected it – bitterness; And a chemical connection called glutamate for Umami, also described as a generation. E-button sends these chemicals in gel format by a tab that extends from the small device to the tongue.

An electromagnetic pump controls the delivery and coordinated with distant stimuli in what the researchers call “Internet of Things”. According to the study, the device turned out to be safe, versatile and adjustable and resistant to potential damage that bite through what is good because the thing literally rests on its teeth.

“Potential applications include haunting games, online shopping opportunities, distance learning, weight management, sensory tests, physical rehabilitation and others,” said the researchers, including the engineer Shulin Chen from Ohio State University.

Imagine the convenience of being able to try something on a menu before ordering it. While the ice horses can often try samples before they commit themselves to a final election, they cannot do this with steak or pasta. Although the study does not describe this specific example (and video players are probably looking forward to trying blood next time Mortal Kombat'S Scorpion she hits her mouth) A remote tasting device could be revolutionary for us undecided guests.