Scientists demonstrate that it’s possible to send lemonade over the internet

By Luke Dormehl March 29, 2017

[TEI2017] Virtual Lemonade: Let's Teleport Your Lemonade!

What could be better than having a cool glass of lemonade on a hot day? How about having a cool glass of lemonade on a hot day — that’s served over the internet?

That’s exactly what scientists at the National University of Singapore have been working on, with an experiment designed to simulate the taste and appearance of lemonade in a regular glass of tap water using a system of electrodes and sensors.

“The system consists of three main components: the lemonade sensor, communication protocol, and a customized tumbler, acting as the lemonade simulator,” researcher Nimesha Ranasinghe told Digital Trends. “Initially, the sensor captures the color and the pH value of the lemonade, and encodes this information based on an established communication protocol for wireless transmission. On receiving the information from the sensor, the lemonade simulator overlays the color of the drink on plain water using an RGB Light Emitting Diode (LED). and simulates sour taste sensations on the user’s tongue via electrical stimulation [by] applying controlled electrical pulses on the tip of tongue.”

According to Ranasinghe, there are a few possibilities that the work opens up. “We believe similar technologies will be helpful for sharing beverage or real flavor experiences with remote people digitally,” he said. “This will also helpful to cut down the calorie intake for patients on restricted diets. More interestingly, this technology will allow digital controllability or customization of the flavors in a beverage — for example using a mobile app.”

Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s still work to be done, though. Without a scent element, which is far more responsible for how we taste things than many people realize, the taste spectrum that can be transmitted is fairly narrow. The team is now trying to integrate this sensory aspect, and is also working out how to transmit a sense of fizziness.

Over time, the plan is to be able to simulate any drink available. If that could help cut down on teeth-decaying sugars, or even allow a person to sip an “alcoholic” tasting drink without getting drunk, this may well turn out to be important research.

We’ll keep checking our in boxes, just in case. You never know when someone’s going to email us a beer!

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…

Deals

The 11 best Father’s Day deals that you can get for Sunday

Data from a workout showing on the screen of the Apple Watch Series 8.

Father's Day is fast approaching and there's still time to buy your beloved Dad a sweet new device to show him how much you love him. That's why we've rounded up the ten best Father's Day tech deals going on right now. There's something for most budgets here, including if you're able to spend a lot on your loved one. Read on while we take you through the highlights and remember to order fast so you don't miss out on the big day.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 -- $200, was $230

While it's the Plus version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 that features in our look at the best tablets, the standard variety is still worth checking out. Saving your Dad the need to dig out their laptop or squint at a small phone screen, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 offers a large 10.5-inch LCD display and all the useful features you would expect. 128GB of storage means plenty of room for all your Dad's favorite apps as well as games too. A long-lasting battery and fast charging save him the need for a power source too often too.

Deals

The Apollo wearable is proven to help you sleep better (and it’s on sale)

Apollo wearable worn during sleep in bed.

This content was produced in partnership with Apollo Neuro.
Stress, anxiety, and insomnia are all concerning things that just about everyone struggles with at one time or another. Maybe you can sleep, fending off insomnia, but you lack quality sleep and don’t feel rested in the morning. Or, maybe when it’s time to kick back and relax, you just can’t find a way to do so. There are many solutions for these issues, some work, and others don’t, but one unlikely area of support can be found in a modern, smart wearable.

Medicine is the obvious choice, but not everyone prefers to go that route. There is an answer in modern technology or rather a modern wearable device. One such device is the Apollo wearable, which improves sleep and stress relief via touch therapy. According to Apollo Neuro, the company behind the device, which is worn on your ankle, wrist or clipped to your clothing, it sends out waves of vibrations to help your body relax and reduce feelings of stress. It's an interesting new approach to a common problem that has typically been resolved via medicine, therapy, or other more invasive and time-consuming techniques. The way it utilizes those vibrations, uniquely placed and administered, to create a sense of peace, makes us ask, can it really cure what ails us? We’ll dig a little deeper into how it achieves what it does and what methods it’s using to make you feel better.

Space

What comes after Webb? NASA’s next-generation planet-hunting telescope

An illustration shows how NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory would measure the atmosphere of distant planets.

When it comes to building enormous, complex space telescopes, agencies like NASA have to plan far in advance. Even though the James Webb Space Telescope only launched recently, astronomers are already busy thinking about what will come after Webb — and they've got ambitious plans.

The big plan for the next decades of astronomy research is to find habitable planets, and maybe even to search for signs of life beyond Earth. That's the lofty goal of the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a space telescope currently in the planning phase that is aimed at discovering 25 Earth-like planets around sun-like stars.