‘Electronic tongue’ developed by Seoul researchers

A local research team has developed an “electronic tongue” that can distinguish sour tastes from salty tastes. Cho Seong-in, a professor at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Seoul National University, said yesterday that his research team developed a device composed of sensors that perform the role of a human tongue, and data processors that stand in for a human brain. The research team’s paper was selected as one of eight winners of an award from the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Mr. Cho said. The award ceremony will be held July 30 in the United States. The electronic tongue consists of a bundle of six pencil-size sensors, which are coated with a membrane that reacts to various kinds of electrolytes that produce sour or salty tastes, the research team said. “We tested with three kinds of white wines and red wines each,” Mr. Cho said. “The device does not just distinguish red wines from white wines. It tells the differences among the white wines at 100 percent accuracy.” The research team speculated that the system could be utilized in testing whether food or beverages, such as beer or kimchi, maintain the same taste in mass production. by Choi Ji-young