New Thermal Taste Actuation Technology for Future Multisensory Virtual Reality and Internet

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Sensory Science
• Digital Gastronomy

Background:

• Current virtual reality (VR) applications primarily engage audio, visual, and touch senses.
• Integrating taste into VR is challenging due to reliance on chemical delivery systems.
• Digital taste actuation is needed to expand immersive VR experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the 'Thermal Taste Machine,' a novel digital taste actuation technology.
• To investigate the range of thermal taste sensations elicited by controlled temperature changes on the tongue.
• To explore the potential of thermal stimulation to enhance sweetness perception, particularly for virtual reality applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of a device capable of rapid tongue surface temperature modulation (heating and cooling).
• Human subject testing to characterize thermal taste sensations (20 known tastes and non-tastes).
• User studies to assess the impact of thermal stimulation on perceived sweetness intensity of sucrose solutions.

Main Results:

• Rapid tongue heating induced sensations of sweetness, fattiness, electric taste, and warmth, while reducing metallic taste perception.
• Tongue cooling generated minty, pleasant, and cold sensations.
• Thermal stimulation, especially rapid heating, significantly enhanced perceived sweetness intensity for both thermal and non-thermal tasters.

Conclusions:

• The Thermal Taste Machine effectively produces and modifies thermal taste sensations, offering a chemical-free method for taste simulation.
• This technology can digitally enhance taste perception, particularly sweetness, with potential applications in virtual reality.
• Rapid temperature changes on the tongue are key to generating and intensifying specific taste sensations.