Dan Maynes-Aminzade is working towards a simple goal we can all appreciate: edible user interfaces. One such device, called the BeanCounter, uses electronically controlled valves to dispense jelly beans based on memory usage or other statistics of up to six running processes at a time.
Quite possibly even better (and at the very least, dramatically less hygienic) is the TasteScreen: a system consisting of an LCD monitor with a specialized USB device mounted on top of it. The device contains twenty plastic flavor cartridges which drip controlled quantities of flavoring into a staging area where they’re mixed and dispensed.
When dispensed, the flavoring chemicals drip down to coat the monitor with a thin liquid residue. A user can sample the dispensed flavor by touching his tongue to the computer screen. Certain combinations of flavoring agents recreate a flavor appropriate to the user s task.
Perhaps if he dedicates one such chamber to a Windex solution, he’ll have a viable product on his hands. Regardless, we can only hope that one day you’ll finally be able to discover for yourself what Gizmodo really tastes like.
Edible User Interfaces [WMMNA]
