Digital Taste Interface

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Posted by Unknown on Saturday November 23, 2013 @08:41AM from the good-news-everyone dept.

Tutter writes with news that Smellovision is being joined in reality by Tasteovision. "Possible applications in healthcare and gaming — it works by using electrodes on your tongue to stimulate salty, sweet, bitter and sour. It can produce the taste of virtual foods or drinks, allowing you to enjoy the taste without the calories (or chewing...). They are also good reasons to do this, for example, a diabetic can now taste sweets without actually affecting their blood sugar levels. Quote: 'The team is also working on a spin-off called a digital lollipop that will give the effect of a continuous sugar hit – but without sugar. For taste messaging they have developed TOIP — Taste Over Internet Protocol. This is a data format that makes it easy to transmit information on how to recreate the different tastes via the electrode. ... It is early days. The four major taste components, plus the fifth, the savoury 'umami' tang, are only a part of what we call flavor. Smell and texture are important, too — and the team now wants to work on adding those effects.' A video on youtube shows what it can do."

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Diabetics by Anonymous Coward · 2013-11-23 08:46 · Score: 3, Insightful

a diabetic can now taste sweets without actually affecting their blood sugar levels
Who says the taste of sweets won't affect your blood sugar levels?
1. Re:Diabetics by MrBigInThePants · 2013-11-23 09:57 · Score: 2
  
  They are struggling to find a scenario in which this technology is anything other than an empty (and almost certainly expensive) gimmick.
  You are correct. Research shows that just the taste of sweet things can cause insulin reactions etc.
  I am also amused that a youtube video can "show" me what it can do....
2. Re:Diabetics by rubycodez · 2013-11-24 04:40 · Score: 1
  
  the same scenario that has advanced the frontiers of digital communications technology, new and better types of porn. In this case, the genres are obvious
3. Re:Diabetics by barfy · 2013-11-24 04:44 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  There is good reason to believe that sweet testing things cause insulin production, especially because certain items, especially sugars start making it into your blood stream prior to ingestion. This is the believed source of the diet coke makes you fat syndrome. It causes insulin response because of sweetness, gating existing blood sugar into cells for storage. Lowering blood sugar which needs to be replaced making you eat, eat sooner, eat more often, eat energy dense foods. If they are ONLY testing blood sugar response on diabetics, you may find that it DOESN'T affect blood sugar, because they are diabetic. Where this makes a world of difference is in pre-diabetics. Those that already have too much stored in their body, but have either yet to max out, or that the insulin production in their body hasn't already been damaged.
4. Re:Diabetics by MrBigInThePants · 2013-11-24 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  Well porn wont work for this.
  Outside of the various flavoured genital coverings and creams sex tends to taste nasty.
5. Re:Diabetics by rubycodez · 2013-11-30 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  maybe he's gay and complaining about a different orifice
Doubt it by Iamthecheese · 2013-11-23 08:48 · Score: 1

This video has a very high claim/evidence ratio. All I can see is a man with two electrodes in his mouth. Nothing about how it works. I'm going to file this in "speculative fiction"

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1. Re:Doubt it by icebike · 2013-11-23 09:09 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Yes, that's what it seemed like to me.
  I suspect there is a tongue covering device in the mouth to send the electrical to the proper receptors.
  As for TOIP, (taste over internet protocol), I think I'll pass. I still can't get Goatse out of my eyes, I'll be damned if I want it in my mouth.
  
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2. Re:Doubt it by scott9693 · 2013-11-23 10:07 · Score: 1
  
  I was impressed with the guy licking his screen. I have an identical notebook and licked my screen, but sadly tasted nothing...
  I was looking forward to that chocolate cake!
3. Re:Doubt it by JamieIanMacgregor · 2013-11-24 15:14 · Score: 1
  
  it probably just tastes like the terminals of a 9v battery.
Porn by girlintraining · 2013-11-23 08:53 · Score: 1, Interesting

Well, since porn has usually been a driver for technology... It goes without saying... being able to taste the sex will be one use this technology will soon be put to. And if they can perfect the taste of flavored latex... the sky is the limit. -_- I know you think I'm joking, but I'm not -- VHS versus Betamax. VHS won because Betamax wouldn't license to porn producers. Technology is replete with examples of our insatiable hedonistic appetites driving it to profit and success over its competitors, who tried to maintain "the high ground".

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1. Re:Porn by ArcadeMan · 2013-11-23 08:55 · Score: 1
  
  In our house, VHS won because longer tapes were available.
  
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2. Re:Porn by BergZ · 2013-11-23 09:01 · Score: 1
  
  In our house, VHS won because longer tapes were available to record more porn.
  
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3. Re:Porn by aliquis · 2013-11-23 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  Any chance some other film producer didn't picked Betamax for the same reason as the porn industry (all of it?) did?
  Or was the porn industry unique?
Oh boy! by ArcadeMan · 2013-11-23 08:54 · Score: 1

I can't wait to hear about the first users getting hacked. I wonder what flavours will be used for the hacks, apart from the obvious ones. I'll let your dirty minds fill in the blanks.

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1. Re:Oh boy! by locopuyo · 2013-11-23 09:39 · Score: 2
  
  Bacon flavored sperm
  
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2. Re:Oh boy! by rubycodez · 2013-11-24 04:45 · Score: 1
  
  if a pill could do that most women would beg to perform fellatio, and swallow
3. Re:Oh boy! by locopuyo · 2013-11-25 16:47 · Score: 1
  
  Same for the dogs from that commercial.
  
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Re:Nonsense by Schmorgluck · 2013-11-23 09:17 · Score: 1

Plus, they don't even mention the umami taste. This totally smells and tastes like overhyped bullshit.

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Re:Nonsense by Holi · 2013-11-23 09:34 · Score: 1

So you don't even read the summary I see.
" It is early days. The four major taste components, plus the fifth, the savoury 'umami' tang,"

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Re:Nonsense by Schmorgluck · 2013-11-23 09:51 · Score: 1

I may have basically glanced at the summary. I stopped paying close attention after the first sentence mentionned only four tastes. My bad.

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There's nothing like $HOME
neither are you... by globaljustin · 2013-11-23 10:13 · Score: 1

"Taste the sex"?
You're not doing it right.
ahem...
the mouth is commonly used in sex acts ...
which would involve taste
both you and GP seem foreign to this whole enterprise...mouths are integral for sex...but taste is...a parenthetical sensation at best...one enjoyed b/c of the source it...came from...not because of any inherent characteristic

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digital wonka interface by jjeffries · 2013-11-23 10:25 · Score: 1

The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!
"An electrode... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-11-23 11:51 · Score: 1

...that can produce the taste of salty, sweet, bitter and sour food"
Can it do 9V battery flavor, too?
Imagine the possibilities by Dunbal · 2013-11-23 12:40 · Score: 2

If this was real, I can see trolling entering a whole new dimension. Here - taste this....

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