This new device will help you 'Taste the TV' before you taste the food

Many of us spend minutes gazing at long food menus before deciding what to eat. Some of us have also wished to relish the food served by top-notch chefs in famous TV shows like MasterChef. Looks like Genie just heard you!

A new TV by Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita will now let you lick to get a flavour of whatever you see on the TV screen. The 'Taste the TV' device sends electric signals to 10 flavour canisters to create unique sprays.

As per a Reuters report, Miyashita has been working on the device since 2019 and introduced a demonstration video early in October this year. The video showed researchers mixing a variety of foods and using sensors to taste them. To recreate the same flavour, they sprayed chemicals on a translucent sheet that was then put on TV screens to help users lick what they see.

Although the sheets are disposable, the idea of licking off a TV screen seems quite bizarre, especially amid the dangerous COVID-19 times. What seems like a tremendous futuristic invention also raises serious doubts about hygiene and safety!

Considering its price value of $875 (Rs 65,000 approx.), the Lickable TV may fall short of becoming an ideal purchase for food lovers. But it might encourage huge sales for restaurants. People will surely like to try which food item to invest their money in before they actually place their order. It might also reduce food wastage as people will only order dishes their taste buds wish for.

While the TV seems to be a good tool for cooks and sommeliers, it is quite an example of the fact that taste receptors are closely linked to the mind.