Can a machine taste coffee? The question has plagued scientists studying the caffeinated beverage for decades. Fortunately, researchers in Switzerland can now answer with a resounding “yes.” The study on their coffee-tasting machine is scheduled for the March 1 issue of ACS’ Analytical Chemistry.
For the food industry, “electronic tasters” like these could prove useful as quality control devices to monitor food production and processing.
Christian Lindinger and colleagues at Nestlé Research pointed out that coffee scientists have long been searching for instrumental approaches to complement and eventually replace human sensory profiling. However, the multisensory experience from drinking a cup of coffee makes it a particular challenge for flavor scientists trying to replicate these sensations on a machine. More than 1,000 substances may contribute to the complex aroma of coffee.
The new tasting machine assessed the taste and aromatic qualities of espresso coffee nearly as accurately as a panel of trained human espresso tasters, the study reported. It analyzed gases released by a heated espresso sample, then transformed the most pertinent chemical information into taste qualities like roasted, flowery, woody, toffee and acidity. “This work represents significant progress in terms of correlation of sensory with instrumental results exemplified on coffee,” state the authors.
Source: ACS
Related stories:
Calming your thoughts through mindfulness
Our worries. They're crescendoing like the finale of Beethoven's "Ninth": Bailouts, buyouts. Recession, depression.
Your robotic friend, the humanoid robot (Robot Special part 2)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Robots can take any shape or form and with the explosion in European research and development for every imaginable robot application, there are dozens of completely different designs. Why, then, do we remain fascinated by humanoid robots?
Nearly Waterless Washing Machine to Debut in 2009
A new washing machine that uses just a cup of water, a pinch of detergent, and about 1,000 small plastic chips to clean clothes may be available for consumers in the UK next year.
Detection instrument can sniff out airborne terrorist threats
Security and law enforcement officials may some day have a new ally - a universal detection system that can monitor the air for virtually all of the major threat agents that could be used by terrorists.
Computer model reveals how brain represents meaning
Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have taken an important step toward understanding how the human brain codes the meanings of words by creating the first computational model that can predict the unique brain activation patterns associated with names for things that you can see, hear, feel, taste or smell.
Munch-o-matic: Scientists develop the artificial mouth
For years scientists have tried to build an electronic tongue, a robotic tasting device that could have profound applications in improving food quality and safety. But before machines learn to taste their food, they first need to learn how to chew it.
Piecing together the next generation of cognitive robots
Building robots with anything akin to human intelligence remains a far off vision, but European researchers are making progress on piecing together a new generation of machines that are more aware of their environment and better able to interact with humans.
Software: serious games in virtual worlds
Serious games are designed not to entertain, but to teach. Students learn by doing, and games range from simulating medical procedures to promoting peace in Palestine. Now European researchers are developing a platform to make the concept more accessible to businessmen. You cannot replace experience, but maybe you can acquire it faster.