A Japanese scientist has developed a kind of "electronic lollipop" which is nothing more than a taste simulator. The goal? Make the user feel any taste without having to ingest food and relieve people on a special diet.
Homei Miyashita is a researcher from Meiji University in Tokyo (Japan). As Designboom says in an article of May 23, 2020, the person concerned developed a kind of electronic pacifier . This portable device is made up of five electrolytes inserted into just as many gels embodying the five tastes we know:sweet, salty, sour, bitter and also umami. Let us remember in passing that unami is a very particular taste and relatively little known to the general public before the beginning of the 1990s.
According to the researcher, by weakening or strengthening these tastes, it becomes possible to reproduce faithfully food flavors. The device must obviously be in contact with the tongue to work. The latter uses the process of electrophoresis, in other words the migration of microscopic particles via electricity.
Homei Miyashita named his device the "Norimaki Synthesizer", a name that refers to the algae surrounding the sushi. According to the person concerned, the interest of his invention is undeniable. The user does not need to put food in their mouth to feel the flavor. However, skeptics might think that it must be quite frustrating to taste a food without the usual feeling of swallowing and/or satiety.
But it seems that this invention has a health utility. Indeed, persons subject to a special regime could regain the sensation of certain tastes by avoiding weight gain. The device could therefore appeal to individuals subject to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, etc. There are also people who are allergic or intolerant to certain foods. It is therefore a question of reminding them or making them aware of certain tastes which are usually forbidden to them.
Finally, let's mention the fact that Homei Miyashita integrated a color code from the three primary colors . However, this defines the different tastes. The user can therefore act on the colors in order to feel this or that flavor.
Here is a video presenting the Norimaki synthesizer:
