Scientists at the Autonomous University of Barcelona have developed an instrument that has recorded 82 % success rate in determining various beer brands. The device uses 21 ion-selective electrodes capable of detecting chemical elements including sodium, ammonium, chloride and nitrate. Manel del Valle, from the University of Barcelona and the main author of the study which was published in the journal Food Chemistry, said “The electronic tongue uses generic array of sensors with generic response to various chemical compounds involved.” The device generates a varied spectrum of information with advanced tools for processing pattern recognition and even neural networks. Various well known beers have been successfully distinguished by the tongue. The system can only recognise products it has been “trained” to detect.
Researchers believe the device could, in the future, be used and developed to give robots a sense of taste and possibly create scientifically accurate food industry tasters !!