The scientist developed a pair of electronic chopsticks, stimulating the salty taste in the tongue with ... electricity

For a future, it is both delicious and healthy.

Just like any bland story has been attributed to an unpleasant metaphor: "lack of salt", for us, good food is "enough salt". The salty taste from the early childhood has flirted with the direction of human cuisine.

Ranashinghe created a pair of chopsticks with electrodes implanted in the head, allowing stimulation of tongue taste cells.

But eating salty is not good for the body. In the United States in particular, about 30% of adults have high blood pressure and need to reduce sodium consumption. Unfortunately, the story of "lack of salt" was "hard to swallow" already, making salty people digest some light dishes, the more difficult.

What happens if there are kitchen utensils like chopsticks that can convey salty taste to the tip of the tongue? This cool solution comes from Nimesha Ranasinghe , who recently joined the University of Maine as an assistant professor, and director of the Multi-sensor Interactive Media laboratory.

Ranashinghe created a pair of chopsticks with electrodes implanted in the head, allowing stimulation of tongue taste cells to produce simulated flavors, and let the experimenter eat mashed potatoes without salt in pairs. My 'magic wand'. This experiment, described by him in Food Research International, can significantly increase and stabilize the ability of people to eat salty taste.

Diagram of chopsticks structure.

Ranashinghe thought of the day when the technology could 'deceive' the taste of the eater while pursuing a healthy diet."Taste will become an external factor for anything you enjoy," he said.

Ranashinghe began his career as a doctoral student at the CUTE Center of Singapore National University. This center was founded by Adrian Cheok, a researcher specializing in Internet-based induction, a very . strange field. For example, a hug project . chicken over the internet, or recently he is instructing students to make a "kiss device", a special gift for lovers who are far away.

Adrian Cheok, the "master" of martial arts "touches the Internet".

For my Ph.D project, Ranasinghe also aims to transmit through the internet, and what we know: the taste. First, he happened to turn over a study from the 1970s, about people with brain disease that made them lose their sense of taste. In that study, the patient's tongue was stimulated with electrical wires to measure how much taste buds remained in their tongue. Experimental reports show an interesting point: patients say they feel something salty or sour when stimulating electrical impulses.

Ranasinghe considered the experiment as a starting step, and soon began to click on the tongue in the laboratory."I experimented with different frequency bands and amplitudes, with different materials, and with different positions on the tip of the tongue , " he said. He also determined parameters to produce simulated salty, sour, and bitter flavors. According to Ranasinghe, sweetness is also difficult to produce, and he cannot test the fifth basic taste, umami ("sweet meat" form, for example), because people are not so familiar with it.

Interestingly, Ranashinghe doesn't care much about the "tongue map" that delineates taste in different positions . "It's out of date," he asserted. Current experiments show that all areas of the tongue (except the latter) can recognize all five basic tastes, although the threshold may vary by region.

The tongue map is no longer true?

After finding parameters to simulate taste, he worked quietly to test electrical stimulation on his tongue."In the initial experiments, people were very reluctant to see in the room full of . wires, " he said. "They don't want to put them on their tongue." So he must make great efforts to gradually integrate electric simulations into the dining experience. The pair of electric chopsticks is the latest prototype of Ranashinghe. With recent studies, he also made an electric soup bowl that can convey flavor when people sip from a bowl.

He is even "playing around" with other familiar items like water bottles, straws, spoons, and even cocktails . internet connection, allowing people to send virtual cocktails (virtual cocktail , or vocktail) for distant friends.

The human tongue must connect to both electrodes to close the circuit and allow electricity to pass.

However, there are a few design problems, which enhances the taste with electricity is a magic trick in the party rather than a mass commercial solution. The human tongue must connect to both electrodes to close the circuit and allow electricity to pass.

Such dual connections are quite natural in tools like cups or soup bowls, but fork knives are quite difficult. Imagine using a pair of chopsticks to pick up sushi; You don't need to touch the chopsticks to eat. That's why Ranasinghe uses mashed potatoes for experiments, because users have to lick this viscous dish on the chopsticks.

Not big problems! Ranasinghe said that the technology is still in the first phase: "It's like TV in the 1950s . " Currently, the screen is still black and white, but someday, the virtual taste will spread in the tongue, with the most unique 'color techniques'.