Food texture sensing by using an imitation tongue with variable elasticity

Abstract

This paper proposes a texture sensing system based on a biomimetic approach for nursing-care gel foods. The proposed system is equipped with an imitation tongue that can reproduce the elastic behavior of human tongue. First, we introduce the imitation tongue with a variable elasticity mechanism in the artificial mastication model. In this study, using a prototype of the imitation tongue, we verify that it can reproduce the elasticity of human tongue from the relaxed state to the contracted state. Then, we show that the pressure distribution in the artificial mastication of gel food changes clearly with respect to the elasticity of the imitation tongue. Finally, we develop the texture evaluation system that estimates the values of human sensory evaluation of the texture. We show that the texture can be accurately estimated with the appropriate elasticity of the imitation tongue.