14 DAY TRIAL // A group of researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, in Spain, announce the successful testing of an innovative electronic tongue, which the team says has proven capable of telling different brands of beer apart. The device is modeled on the human sense of taste.
The lead author of the study was expert Manel del Valle, who says that the entire concept for the tongue revolves around a generic array of sensors, which are backed up by a series of advanced processing tools and pattern recognition software. Crucially, the device also features a small neural network.
According to a paper the team published in the latest issue of the journal Food Chemistry, the electronic tongue has proven successful in no less than 82 percent of all cases. This level of precision was made possible by the 21 ion-selective electrodes used in the device.
Some of these electrodes were sensitive to sodium, ammonium, and other types of cations, while others responded to nitrate, chloride and other anions. A third type of electrodes were neutral, in the sense that they were not built to respond to a specific set of chemicals, e! Science News reports.