A new device could allow video game players to taste some of the food in their games and cooking show viewers to sample the dishes; it could have medical applications as well.
"We have found noninvasive electrical and thermal stimulation of the tip of the tongue successfully generates the primary taste sensations," Nimesha Ranasinghe, a researcher from the National University of Singapore who participated in the study, told New Scientist.
An electrode will deliver salty, sweet, sour, and bitter notes to the tongue. The device is cumbersome as of right now, but the researchers believe they can redesign it to be small enough to all users to close their mouths while it is clipped on.
Ranasinghe hopes the device will be used for more than just recreation.
"People with diabetes might be able to use the taste [synthesizer] to simulate sweet sensations without harming their actual blood sugar levels. Cancer patients could use it to improve or regenerate a diminished sense of taste during chemotherapy," he told New Scientist.
The new technology could also help "wean" people off sugary drinks and other health-harming snacks.
"A taste simulator might help extinguish or reduce the physiological effect of drinking sugar, however, the psychological factors of sugar enjoyment would remain," Jennifer Cornish, of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, whose team recently found a link between the consumption of sweet drinks and cancer, said.
The team is also working on a "digital lollipop' that can deliver endless licks of sweet flavor without any sugar.
Scent and texture are also important parts of the tasting experience, so in the future the team hopes to incorporate these elements into digital sampling.
"In a gaming environment we could come up with a new reward system based on taste sensations," Ranasinghe told New Scientist. "For example, if you complete a game task successfully, or complete a level, we can give a sweet, minty or sour reward. If you fail we can deliver a bitter message."
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