10-04-2017, 09:14 PM
The electronic tongue or language is an instrument that measures and compares tastes. The chemical compounds responsible for taste are detected by the receptors of human taste, and the seven sensors of the electronic instruments detect the same dissolved organic and inorganic compounds. Like human receptors, each sensor has a different spectrum of reactions from the other. The information given by each sensor is complementary and the combination of all sensor results generates a unique fingerprint. Most sensor detection thresholds are similar or better than those of human receivers.
In the biological mechanism, taste signals are transduced by the nerves of the brain into electrical signals. The E-tab sensor process is similar: it generates electrical signals as potentiometric variations. The perception and recognition of taste quality is based on the construction or recognition of patterns of sensory nerves activated by the brain and the fingerprint of the product. This step is achieved by the statistical software of the electronic language that interprets the sensor data in taste patterns. A variation was developed by Professor Fredrik Winquist of the University of Link ping, Sweden.
The electronic language uses flavor sensors to receive chemical information on the tongue and send it to a pattern recognition system. The result is the detection of the tastes that make up the human palate. The types of flavor that is generated is divided into five categories: acidity, salinity, bitterness, sweetness and umami. The acidity, which includes hydrogen chloride, acetic acid and citric acid, is created by hydrogen ions. Salinity is recorded as sodium chloride, sweetness by sugars, bitterness, which includes chemicals such as quinine and caffeine is detected through magnesium chloride, and umami by monosodium glutamate of algae, or disodium guanylate in meat / fish / mushrooms.