Researchers have developed the first artificial neuromorphic tongue, a device which not only perceives flavors but learns to recognize and remember them in much the same manner that a human organ does. This innovation brings together the most advanced materials in science and computing, with the potential to open up new possibilities in healthcare, food safety, and sensory rehabilitation.
The heart of the artificial tongue is the graphene oxide membranes. The thin films are extremely active and respond in ways to a range of taste molecules including sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami and change their electric outputs in quantifiable ways. In contrast to previous electronic tongue designs, the device is accompanied by neuromorphic computing. Neuromorphic systems are based on the architecture of the human brain and enable the device to learn on the information detected by the sense of taste. With time, the device improves at identifying complicated tastes and mixtures and adapts similarly to human sense adaptation.
The fake tongue did, in experiments, from 72.5 percent to 87.5 percent in recognizing single tastes and up to 96 percent in recognizing multiple drinks like coffee and fruit juices. These are on the same level as the quality of the commercial human taste groups and better than the conventional electronic chemical sensors.
Its possible applications are diverse. In medicine, for example, it might test for disease by changing the sense of taste or by depositing material in the saliva, such as diabetes, infection, or cancer, by virtue of a fast and pain-free test. In the food and beverages industry, it might develop an objective quality-controlling system for the detection of spoilage or irregularities in
ingredients ahead of the human tasters. On the personal level, where the sense of taste has disappeared as the aftermath of illness, injury, or medication, the artificial tongue could complement wearable or electronic devices for simulation of the signal of the flavours and yet restore the pleasure of eating and nutritional advice. Far beyond the realm of foods and medicine are the same sensing methods that might detect contaminants in water supplies or detect the leakage of toxic substances, and the end-product could become a useful tool for the monitoring of the environment.
Scientists predict that within ten years, artificial tongues will be routine pieces of kit in doctor’s surgeries, food production, and environmental monitoring labs. Future versions will be small enough to be held in hand-held units or plugged into cell phones, placing heavy-duty sensory analysis in the hands of anyone, anywhere. This technology doesn’t improve just sensor technology; it brings us closer to machines being capable of sensing the world in senses that were thought to belong exclusively to humans. As designers draw on biology for inspiration and pair it with intelligent computing, the artificial neuromorphic tongue can change the face of disease diagnosis, the security of the world’s food, and even the character of taste itself.
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