SAEDNEWS: Hong Kong researchers have developed a handheld device shaped like a lollipop that can generate multiple flavors in a virtual environment.
According to SaedNews, virtual reality (VR) technology has long sought to combine human senses in virtual and mixed reality environments. In addition to sight and hearing, researchers have tried to incorporate touch, smell, and taste into this technology through various interfaces. Now, Hong Kong researchers have developed a handheld device shaped like a lollipop that can create multiple flavors in a virtual environment.
According to Ars Technica, the device created by City University of Hong Kong researchers using iontophoresis resembles an ordinary lollipop. When the user licks the lollipop, they experience a taste sensation as if it were a real lollipop. Researchers have placed small amounts of agarose gel in the device. With a low voltage (2 volts), the chemicals in the gel are activated, bringing part of it to the surface of the lollipop. When the gel mixes with the user's saliva, it creates a flavor.
Currently, this device produces nine flavors: sweet, salty, citric acid, cherry, passion fruit, green tea, milk, durian, and grapefruit. Additional flavors can be created by changing the materials inside the device.
Testing of the device showed it works almost as well as expected. Researchers say their lollipop device can be useful in three main scenarios: taste tests by doctors, online shopping experiences for grocery stores, and specialized environments where children can try different flavors in virtual reality games.
Researchers note that the number of flavors their system can produce is limited to what the lollipop can hold and usually depletes after about an hour of licking. They are now exploring ways to increase the longevity and number of flavors.
Previously, Japanese researchers invented an electric spoon that created a salty taste in the mouth using a different method. That spoon was produced in limited quantities and sold. It is unclear whether the Hong Kong researchers' lollipop device will have commercial applications.
The researchers' findings were published in PNAS.
