lickable 'taste gadget' can recreate any flavor without eating food

whether a test for your taste or a way to fake your favorite flavor, homei miyashita has created a lickable ‘taste gadget’ of all assortments. it artificially replicates any flavor without needing any food to be consumed – all you need is just a little lick. with the help of LED lighting, it triggers the five different tastes on the human tongue, which includes acidic, bitter, sweet, salty and umami.

all images screenshots of homei miyashita’s video

named ‘norimaki synthesier’, the study by homei miyashita – a researcher at meiji university in japan – uses ion electrophoresis in five electrolyte gels to, in a controlled method, recreate the five basic tastes. when applied to the tongue with no voltage, the taster can detect all five flavors. however, this is then weaken when a safe voltage is applied, which moves the gel to the cathode side and away from the tongue. the arbitrary taste gadget can be used to individually suppress each basic taste. 

in contrast to other studies, homei miyashita’s researcher uses an electric current for electrophoresis rather than electrically stimulating the tongue, and it does not involve ingestion of a solution to deliver the taste either.

research info:

researcher: homei miyashita

gadget: norimaki synthesier

university: meiji university

date: 2020