New ‘Taste the TV’ Invention in Japan Lets Users Lick Flavors of Food off a Television Screen

A prototype of something called Taste the TV, or TTTV, is being tested in Japan. This is a whole different type of interactive television — a tasty kind.

After the user tells the device what they want to taste, it plays a video of the food while it whips up a concoction of liquids to strike just the right flavor balance and then sprays it on the screen to be licked off.

TTTV is the brainchild of college professor Homei Miyashita from Meiji University, who said the COVID-19 pandemic is creating a demand for many experiences to be enjoyed at home, like trying new foods. 

"I am thinking of making a platform where tastes from all over the world can be distributed as 'taste content,'" they said. "It's the same as watching a movie or listening to a song that you like."

"I hope people can, in the future, download and enjoy the flavors of the food from the restaurants they fancy, regardless of where they are based in the future."

It's not quite a 3-D printer for food, but whether someone craves pancakes or pizza, their taste buds could soon be satisfied simply by asking.

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