31 March 2022 | 2 Minute(s) to read
Taranaki web, marketing and design agency, Smokeylemon has been working with world tech leaders in developing groundbreaking technology. The potential applications will revolutionise the digital space, says owner Mandy McGregor.
In 2020, Dutch scientists found a link between light and taste. Since then biotech giant Avantium have developing the science they are calling Tastipixel™. Scientists discovered that by using different arrays of light at set frequencies through light emitting diodes (LED), taste could be triggered. Smokeylemon has partnered with Avantium to help develop a software plugin that creates the correct light array on your device screen to trigger taste when placed on your tongue. While in its initial days, it can be trialled today.
Want to give Tastipixel™ a go?
It may all seem a bit like science fiction but the idea of combining vision and taste has been around since last century. In the 1960s, Hans Laube developed a system that released odours during the projection of a film so that the viewer could "smell" what was happening in the movie called Smell-O-Vision. The first film was the 1960 film Scent of Mystery.
More recently, a Japanese professor has developed a prototype lickable TV screen that can imitate food flavours. The device, called Taste the TV (TTTV), uses a carousel of 10 flavour canisters that spray in combination to create the taste of a particular food. The flavour sample then rolls on hygienic film over a flat TV screen for the viewer to try; however this technology will soon be eclipsed by the Tastipixel™ breakthrough.
Mandy McGregor and her web development team have partnered with biotech giant Avantium to bring Tastpixel™ to the world.
Seeing the potential application, Smokeylemon has invested in and helped develop the technology. “Sometimes we see science make a quantum leap, and this is one of those events. The applications of this tech are really exciting,” says McGregor. “The food and beverage industry could take advantage of this. With new and improved screens, people will be able to get a good indication of what food tastes like.”
McGregor went on to say that in the future, these may be small light emitters that are placed in the mouth but for now, it can be experienced on your own device screen. “We have uploaded a trial to our website. Simply put your tongue onto the designated area of your monitor or device screen. you will be able to experience taste. Tastes are currently limited to simple sensations like sweet and sour but over time, we will be able to have the full gambit of taste sensations.”
