Inventor of the first lickable TV Homei Miyashita has expressed hope that his creation will help people to communicate during the pandemic, but many think that licking the screen is “crazy.”
The device, named Taste the TV (TTTV), has recently won two awards for innovation. It involves a carousel of 10 flavor sample tubes that get mixed to recreate the taste of a particular food and then sprayed onto a transparent film roll over the screen ready for a user to try. Flavors include sweet, sour, spicy, and savory, with current test demonstrations offering a ‘food menu’ and ‘alcohol’ tasting.
“The goal is to make it possible for people to have the experience of something like eating at a restaurant on the other side of the world, even while staying at home,” Miyashita, who works in the faculty of Comprehensive Mathematics at Tokyo Meiji University, said, as quoted by Reuters.
It took the scientist and his 30 students about a year to finish the prototype, the commercial version of which would cost around 100,000 yen ($875). The device, in Miyashita’s opinion, could also potentially be used for distance learning for sommeliers and chefs, as well as in the entertainment industry.
The TTTV inventor is now discussing use of the spray technology in other devices and hopes to create a platform allowing users to download tastes.
However, it is not clear if the innovative device would be embraced by the general public, especially during the pandemic. Many commenters on social media cast doubts about the future of lickable TV.
“I have been in public health long enough to have seen everyth…,” one stunned tweet read, with another saying that “Developer are crazy.”
“When you drive past McDonald’s but mom says we have lickable LG TV at home,” a third commenter joked.
“Porn about to be crazy,” concluded one user.
