TMT4053 Multimodal Interaction Technology

Unit 9:
Taste Interfaces
 Nature Of The Interface
 Taste is an important sense that is seldom used in traditional
displays.
 fundamental nature of the underlying sense and the difficulty
of implementing unobtrusive devices that have made taste
interfaces so difficult.

 The Sense of Taste

 Humans detect chemical features of food with taste receptor
cells.
 The Sense of Taste
Bitter : A strong bitter taste

Umami : Umami is a prevents ingestion of toxic

Japanese word meaning compounds, a small amount of

‘savory’, thus it applies bitter substance contributes to

sensation of savoriness. perceived interesting or good

Umami substances are taste/flavour

glutamates which are

Salty : A common
common in meat, cheese
salty substances is
and other protein-rich
foods. NaCI, known as
table salt

Sour : Sour substances

Sweet : A common
are mostly acids
sweet substance is
sucrose, known as
table sugar.
 Why is a Taste Interface Difficult?

 Taste is very difficult to display because it is a multimodal sensation

comprising chemical substance, sound, smell, and haptic sensations.

 Taste perceived by the tongue can be measured using a biological

membrane sensor

 The sensor measures the chemical substances of the five basic tastes

 Another important element in taste is food texture.

 Measurement of biting force has been studied.

 Technology Of The Interface
Existing Techniques for Displaying Taste

 the use of filter paper discs, such as for patients with taste
disorders.

Food Simulator Project: A Taste Interface Challenge

 "Food Simulator" to develop an interface device that presents

food texture as well as taste.

 It generates a force simulating the previously captured force

profiles of an individual biting real food.
Technology of the Interface
 Food simulator :

o To develop an interface device that presents food

texture as well as taste.

o Integrated with sound ,vibration & chemical taste.

o The sound of biting is captured by bone vibration

microphone.

o The chemical taste is produced using injection pump,

with a tube installed at the end effecter.
Technology of Interface (cont.)

 Goals in Food Simulator :

 To apply force in a direction normal to the teeth (eg :

Haptic device)

 To present multimodal sensation (e.g : Multisensory

display)
Technology of Interface (cont.)

 Haptic Device in Food Simulator

 Composed of one degree-of-freedom(DOF)

mechanism that is designed to fit user’s mouth

 The device is aimed at applying a force representing

the first bite.
Haptic Device in Food Simulator
Technology of Interface (cont.)
 Multisensory Display
1. Sound : related to biting action. This sound is
perceived by vibration mostly in jawbone.
2. Chemical Taste : perceived by the tongue contribute
greatly to the sense of taste. Chemical sensation of
taste was presented by injecting small amount of
liquid into the mouth
Basic taste Chemical Substance
Sweet Sucrose
Sour Tartaric acid
Salty Sodium chloride
Bitter Quinine sulfate
Umami Sodium glutamate
Technology of Interface (cont.)
Multisensory Display

3. Vision and Smell

 Visual and olfactory sensations of food occur independently

of the biting action.

 food simulator prototype still did not support these

sensation

 Head-mounted displays can provide visualization of food.

 Smell can be displayed using a vaporizer.

Bone vibration Tube for injection of
speaker : record Chemical taste
sound of biting
action

Injection pump :
injection of liquid
synchronized with
biting action
Multisensory device
 Future Trends
 Some of the many application areas for Food Simulator
follows :
- Training: Elderly people can practice biting with reduces
resistance to the teeth

- Entertainment: food simulator can change the properties of

food while chewing (eg: a cracker suddenly changed to a gel)

- Food design: preferred resistance by the teeth can be found

using the Food Simulator. Such findings could contribute to the
design of new foods.
THANK YOU