ITmedia reports on the world's first "tasting" robot, developed by NEC System Technologies in cooperation with Sanjuu University. Since actually slapping taste buts on a slobbery, robotic tongue would probably be far too difficult, the company opted to install an infrared sensor in one of the robot's "hands." When you put a piece of food up to the sensor, it will blast it infrared at different wavelengths, and depending on the reverb, the robot can determine what food it is. This is surprisingly (for me, anyway) accurate — the "Health and Foodstuff Adviser Robot" can distinguish between different types of bread and cheese. If it complained at me for eating too many Double Stuf Oreos, however, it's out the window.

World's First "Tasting" Robot [ITmedia]

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