E-Taste, An IoT-enabled Gustatory Interface for Remote Chemical Interaction

About This Grant

Recent years have witnessed a surge in human–machine interfaces (HMIs) due to their potential in medical, civil, and military applications. However, most current HMI systems primarily focus on biophysical input and output signals. In contrast, HMIs involving chemical cues (e.g., taste and smell) are often overlooked in the research community. As a critical component of human perception, taste significantly impacts quality of life and overall well-being. This study aims to develop a gustatory interface integrated with an Internet of Things (IoT) framework to support remote human-human interaction. The goal is to explore the design, integration, and characterization of sensors and actuators for remote sharing and transmission of taste information between users. The researchers plan to demonstrate the concept in a medical care context, where remotely transmitting taste information can provide insights into patients’ taste profiles and identify potential distortions related to diseases or treatments. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this project, the integrated education plan will focus on fostering systems thinking skills. By collaborating with local high schools, the research team will conduct a two-semester K-12 outreach activity, the “I-CORE” program, to promote awareness between engineering, food science, and health science. The project will also introduce an undergraduate curriculum offering that bridges science, society, economics, and ethics. The project builds on the team’s experience in bio-integrated electronics and HMIs. Its three aims are: (1) Uncover the design principles of a flexible gustatory interface for taste simulation, (2) build and characterize a multiplexed electrochemical sensor chip for tastant information capture and remote control, and (3) examine and validate the performance of the IoT framework for sensor-actuator coupling and evaluate user perception through field testing. As a case study, an integrated IoT system will be progressively developed as an assistive tool to connect medical professionals with patients for remote assessment, monitoring, and intervention. The outcomes of this project will address a series of fundamental scientific questions, such as the development of flexible actuators, electrochemical sensing strategies, circuit design of IoT chips, and the integration of human factors in system performance. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.