Scientists develop electronic tongue  
 

Korean scientists have developed an electronic tongue that can identify sour and salty tastes utilizing cutting-edge artificial neural network technology.

The breakthrough was reported in the latest edition of "Transactions of the ASAE," the journal published by the American Society of Agricultural Engineering.

The evelopers said the electronic device could be used to appraise the taste of food, beverages and alcohol more accurately than a human tongue.

The gadget consists of an array of six electronic sensors and a data processing system.

The ion sensors play the role of a tongue by responding to a variety of electrolytic materials in food that yield sour and salty tastes.

The sensors send electrical signals to the data processing computer imbedded with an artificial neural network, which analyzes ingredients and recognizes the taste.

The research team, led by Prof. Cho Sung-in and Dr. Bae Young-min of Seoul National University, said the electronic tongue proved to be effective in quantifying the two basic tastes in a series of tests.

"In tests, the electronic tongue distinguished red wine from white wine. It even recognized the differences among three kinds of red wine," Cho said.

The article reporting their findings was selected for a superior paper award by the ASAE, an educational and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food and biological systems.

The society grants prizes to the eight most distinguished research papers every year. Cho also received ASAE awards in 1991 and 1998.

An awards ceremony will be held during an ASAE conference in the United States July 30.

-- Modified on 7/21/2003 8:02:56 AM