SAD LOVE QUOTES: The robot sommelier with a taste for Cava

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The robot sommelier with a taste for Cava

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By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 10:56 AM on 3rd August 2011

An electronic tongue that can identify different types of Cava wine has been developed by scientists.

The 'robot sommelier' replicates how humans taste using sensors that detect chemical information from samples of the Spanish champagne-like wine.

Researchers at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona made the device to detect the amount of sugar added to Cava with the expedition liqueur after secondary fermentation.

Robot semmelier: The device replicates how humans taste using sensors that detect chemical information from samples of Cava wine

It is useful to know the exact amount of sugar added, since this is what determines the type of Cava which will be produced.

Lead scientist Manel del Valle said: 'It could perform automatic tests in the production process to detect defects and may be a replacement for the human sensory panel used by many wine producers.'

The research team used voltammetric measurements to copy the human taste system and distinguish between different types of Cava.

The electronic tongue can currently identify three types of Cava - Brut, Brut Nature and Medium-Dry.

However, it will soon be able to identify all types available on the market, the scientists said.

The team has spent years working on the development of electronic tongues and are currently working on perfecting the device through the incorporation of bio-sensors.

Human rival: The electronic tongue can currently identify three types of Cava - Brut, Brut Nature and Medium-Dry - but will soon have a much wider palate

Electronic tongues are bio-inspired systems created with the aim of reproducing human perception senses.

The device contains a sensor matrix - with differentiated, broad and complementary response - to obtain chemical information from samples as are obtained by the human senses.

Next, the perception of taste is based on the generation of sensory patterns of the nerves activated by the brain and nerve print recognition, achieved with the use of computerised systems that interpret data obtained by the sensor matrix.

As in biological mechanisms, a learning and training process is needed so that the electronic tongue can be capable of recognising the properties that must be identified.

Professor del Valle said: 'It's a complex training system. You need to show it samples - teach it like you would a child and, once trained, it tells you what a new sample looks like or resembles.

'Then it can be trained for almost any situation.'