TV With Lickable Screen You Can Taste in Development

By Spencer Perry

As if the fad of 3D or curved televisions wasn't enough, the potential for TVs that you can lick and then taste flavors are potentially on the horizon. Well, one guy has designed one, that doesn't mean Toshiba and Sony will be knocking on his door anytime soon. This news all comes from Reuters who report that Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita has created what he calls Taste the TV (TTTV), a device that includes 10 canisters of flavored spray that can work together to create varied tastes which "rolls on hygienic film over a flat TV screen for the viewer to try"

"The goal is to make it possible for people to have the experience of something like eating at a restaurant on the other side of the world, even while staying at home," Miyashita revealed. He went on to reveal he'd been developing this technology himself for the past year and had hoped it would come in handy in our modern, COVID-19 ravaged era as people seek connectivity with friends and like-minded individuals but from their own homes. The report reveals that the professor has said a "commercial version" of the "Taste the TV" technology would cost nearly $875. 

To put a wrinkle in all this, Miyashita revealed that he'd been in talks to use his spray technology in a device that wouldn't be on a TV but could apply the desired flavors to something like a piece of toast instead. Examples given in the original article include "a pizza or chocolate taste."

Miyashita's ambition is not limited just to TVs that you lick though but also the potential for "a platform where tastes from around the world can be downloaded and enjoyed by users." Sounds wild but we're in the future now my dudes.

One last detail about the lickable TV though, the Reuters report denotes that a student was on hand to demonstrate it all. The student reportedly asked the screen to give her a "sweet chocolate" taste and after the order was repeated back to her by a voice, the flavor came out onto the plastic sheet. Their response: "It's kind of like milk chocolate. It's sweet like a chocolate sauce."

Would you buy a TV that you could lick? Are you brave enough to lick a TV now even without the flavor canisters? You can see it in action below, it's technically safe for work but look over your shoulder real quick anyway,

(Cover photo credit: Paramount Pictures/GETTY Images)

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