Kongtechnology.com

Augmented Reality Enhances Candy Flavours

Posted: 09 Dec 2010 02:53 AM PST

In vein of my last article on augmented reality, here’s another technology on Augmented Reality being developed by some innovative Japanese University Students.

This time, the augmentation is not on the visual, but on your taste buds.

At SFC Open Research Forum 2010, Keio University’s Yasuaki Kakehi Laboratory revealed the TagCandy, a food texture augmentation system.

How it works is just through a basic speaker system that subtly vibrates to create different textural sensations in your mouth. Just stick a lollipop into the device and suck on it, to be able to experience the different textures or ‘flavours’, such as fizzy soda, crisp sensations. This is where the augmented reality concept comes up, with some unorthodox ‘flavours’, such as fireworks and an airplane, which are flavours that don’t exist in real life.

The device took home two awards at the 2010 International Student Virtual Reality Contest. Users of the device at the say that the fizzy soda sensation is very realistic, and that the fireworks textures were fun.

Check out the presentation video of the device here.

I think this is a very interesting device. I can imagine the various uses for it, such as enhancing redily available candy flavours or applying dynamic texture to normal flavours (carbonated meat, anyone?). I’d love to try that fireworks one.