Japanese teacher creates ‘lickable’ TV with flavor screen

A Japanese professor has created a prototype ‘lickable’ television screen that can mimic food flavors, another step towards a multi-sensory experience for viewers.

The device, called Taste the TV (TTTV), uses a carousel of 10 flavor tubes that emit combined jets to create the taste of a particular food. The flavor sample is spread on a toilet film on a flat-screen TV for the viewer to taste.

In the midst of the Covid-19 era, this type of technology can emphasize the way people connect and interact with the outside world, said Homei Miyashita, a professor at Meiji University.

“The goal is to make it possible for people to experience something like eating in a restaurant halfway around the world, even though they are at home,” he explained.

Miyashita works with a team of about 30 students who have produced a range of flavor-related gadgets such as a fork that makes food look tastier. He said that he built the TTTV prototype himself over the last year and that a commercial version would cost the equivalent of about $875.

Potential applications include distance learning for sommeliers and cooks and tasting games and riddles, he said.

Miyashita is also talking to companies about using their jet technology for applications like a device that can spread a pizza or chocolate flavor onto a slice of toast.