NUS team's new invention might just let you taste food right in front of your computer

Fancy getting a taste of the pizza you're about to order online before you confirm your choice? This is what the team from National University of Singapore (NUS) envisions.

In a RazorTV video, Dr Nimesha Ranasinghe, researcher at Keio-NUS CUTE Centre, and his team are working on simulating taste buds without chemicals or any real food.

In 2009, he started toying with the idea of being able to taste food and drinks virtually.

By embedding their invention into daily kitchen wares, in their example a water bottle, Dr Ranasinghe is able to simulate sweet, salty, bitter and sour.

All the user has to do is turn the water bottle and the colours will change, mapping it into the different taste sensations.

Dr Ranasinghe wishes his invention would be taken to the next level to include more complex tastes:

"Suppose you are watching a movie and somebody is eating curry, you can virutally taste the curry using our invention.

"Suppose you want to order pizza online, you can virtually taste the pizza beforehand, then go ahead and order it.

"That is our dream."

This invention would also benefit people like diabetic patients, who can then taste the 'sweetness' of something without actually having to eat it.

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