Selecting individual ingredients from a dish can be fun but challenging. Professional chefs and food scientists often spend years honing their taste abilities. However, robots can now partake in this activity thanks to researchers who have developed robotic tasting devices that combine artificial intelligence with an electronic tongue capable of detecting subtle differences in flavor.
According to TechRadar, a research team at the University of Pennsylvania published a paper demonstrating how the artificial tongue can detect various factors such as the water content in a glass of milk, the coffee blend in a cup, and even early-stage fruit juice spoilage, which is nearly impossible for humans to perceive.
The researchers used artificial intelligence to replicate how the tongue, nose, and brain perceive flavors, going beyond simply detecting pH balance. They employed highly sensitive devices known as ISFETs (Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistors) based on graphene technology.
The electronic tongue can measure multiple complex chemicals simultaneously, eliminating the need for various instruments like thermometers or pH testers.
These sensors generate massive amounts of data, which would take traditional computer processors a long time to analyze, and typical analyses wouldn’t provide much insight into details like how diluted the milk is or how fresh the orange juice remains. Instead, the researchers used AI in the form of a neural network that mimics some of the ways humans process taste.
After training the AI to understand the effects of different chemicals on the electronic tongue’s sensors, the neural network was able to identify various types of soda and the freshness of juice with over 80% accuracy.
However, that was just the beginning. When the researchers allowed the AI to develop its own method for analyzing the data, its accuracy increased to 95%, rarely making mistakes.
The combination of measuring minute details of food and using AI to interpret them is an exciting simulation of the human sense of taste. It can do this even when differences are so slight that human senses cannot detect them, such as determining if milk is still good but will spoil soon.
Tests like freshness and purity are just a few potential applications of the AI-driven artificial tongue. At its core, taste is a way to identify chemicals, meaning this technology could be useful beyond the kitchen.
In theory, the artificial tongue could assist in industrial settings or medical diagnostics by detecting vital signs of diseases or changes in health. These ideas are still in the early discussion phase, but the artificial tongue offers a glimpse into the future.
Post a Comment
0Comments