Evaluating cross-sensory perception of superimposing virtual color onto real drink: toward realization of pseudo-gustatory displays

In this research, we aim to realize a gustatory display that enhances our experience of enjoying food. However, generating a sense of taste is very difficult because the human gustatory system is quite complicated and is not yet fully understood. This is so because gustatory sensation is based on chemical signals whereas visual and auditory sensations are based on physical signals. In addition, the brain perceives flavor by combining the senses of gustation, smell, sight, warmth, memory, etc. The aim of our research is to apply the complexity of the gustatory system in order to realize a pseudo-gustatory display that presents flavors by means of visual feedback. This paper reports on the prototype system of such a display that enables us to experience various tastes without changing their chemical composition through the superimposition of virtual color. The fundamental thrust of our experiment is to evaluate the influence of cross-sensory effects by superimposing virtual color onto actual drinks and recording the responses of subjects who drink them. On the basis of experimental results, we concluded that visual feedback sufficiently affects our perception of flavor to justify the construction of pseudo-gustatory displays.