Scientists at Ohio State University have created a new device called e-Taste, also known as an electronic tongue. An invention that allows users to experience different flavors in virtual environments. This innovative technology aims to transcend the traditional VR experience by introducing the long-overlooked sense of taste.
Virtual reality has long been an immersive experience for sight and sound, and recent advancements have even explored touch and smell. However, the sense of taste has remained a missing piece — until now. The e-taste device seeks to fill this gap by offering a new way to connect people in virtual spaces.
According to Jinghua Li, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State, “The chemical dimension in the current VR and AR realm is relatively underrepresented, especially when we talk about olfaction and gustation. It’s a gap that needs to be filled, and we’ve developed that with this next-generation system.”
The e-Taste device comes in the form of a small cube attached to a plastic strip. It simulates flavors by releasing food-grade chemicals directly onto the user’s tongue. The cube is equipped with electric sensors that can recognize food objects in a VR setting and reproduce their taste by blending the five basic flavor sensations:
- Sweet (using glucose)
- Salty (sodium chloride)
- Sour (citric acid)
- Bitter (magnesium chloride)
- Umami (glutamate)
When a user encounters virtual food — like cake, coffee, or lemonade — the device releases a custom mix of these chemicals, delivering a realistic taste experience.
Scientists tested e-Taste by checking if it could copy both simple and complex flavors. They asked 10 people to try the device, and it successfully recreated sourness with 70% accuracy. Then, six volunteers tasted virtual versions of foods like lemonade, cake, fried egg, fish soup, and coffee. The participants correctly recognized the flavors more than 80% of the time.
Even though e-taste shows promise, there are still some problems. Alan Chalmers from the University of Warwick explained that taste depends not only on flavor but also on smell and appearance. “If you close your nose and eyes while eating a strawberry, it tastes very sour,” Chalmers noted. “But we perceive it as sweet due to its aroma and red colour.”
Another issue is that e-Taste cannot yet produce feelings like spiciness or the creamy texture of fat, which are important for a complete taste experience. Scientists know that while the device can recreate basic flavors, it still needs improvements to capture more complex ones.
Yizhen Jia, one of the researchers, said, “e-Taste opens doors to virtual food experiences and could change how we interact with digital content.”
According to The Guardian, Marianna Obrist, a professor at University College London, praised the study, calling taste stimulation a “challenging area” but acknowledging the team’s progress in combining taste sensations with digital experiences. “Taste stimulation is a particularly challenging area, yet the authors seem to present a compelling integration of taste sensations to enrich digital experiences,” she said.
The research behind this groundbreaking device has been published in the journal Science Advances.
