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INÉS P. CHÁVARRI San Sebastián 10 MAR 2015 – 19:06 CET

Las jornadas Diálogos de Cocina ahondan en San Sebastián sobre el potencial de la tecnología en los fogones

“Precisión, textura”, “La tecnología en la mesa te puede desconectar de la experiencia en sí”, “La tecnología es una herramienta más”, “El alma no anida en la tecnología”, “No nos podemos olvidar de lo importante, es decir, de lo que comemos”, “Es necesaria, no hay evolución sin tecnología”, “La tecnología siempre es necesaria, pero también me gusta escuchar la música en vinilo”. Las reflexiones, recopiladas por el cocinero Mario Sandoval, corresponden a otros tantos chefs sobre la relación de la tecnología y la gastronomía o de lo que las primeras pueden aportar a la segunda.

La quinta edición de las jornadas Diálogos de Cocina, que reúne entre ayer y hoy en San Sebastián a cocineros, diseñadores, ingenieros y periodistas, entre otros, bucea, en una parte de su programa, sobre el potencial de la tecnología y la ciencia en la gastronomía. También, sobre las dudas y los recelos de mezclar ambos campos.

Precisamente, Sandoval, ha detallado, en una mesa redonda junto al investigador Adrian Cheok, el chef Paco Morales, y Javier Portolés, de la empresa Inhedit, como ha desarrollado una patente junto al CSIC para la hidrólisis del huevo, que permite reproducir diferentes texturas. La patente fue vendida a una empresa estadounidense y llegará a Europa el próximo año.

Sandoval, quien ha impulsado varios trabajos con el CSIC, ha explicado que lo que le animó a ponerse en contacto con investigadores fue la labor previa que había desarrollado en este terreno Andoni Luis Aduriz, chef de Mugaritz, impulsor de Diálogos de Cocina, junto a Azti Tecnalia, una empresa vasca de investigación. En definitiva, de acercarse a un mundo, el científico, que aunque a priori parezca completamente alejado de la gastronomía puede aportar mucho a esta y viceversa. “Realmente la patente ya la tenía un investigador en su cajón”, ha apuntado Sandoval, pero la clave resultó aplicar la técnica al huevo.

“Nos queda mucho por avanzar, un camino enrome por descubrir”, ha añadido Sandoval, tras la intervención de Paco Morales, que ha comenzado a introducir las impresoras 3D en su cocina. El cocinero de Noor ha detallado que la tecnología forma parte de su quehacer diario desde hace cinco años. “Nos da mucho miedo aplicar la tecnología”, ha precisado, pero ello no impide que experimente en su cocina con la impresión de alimentos, una técnica, que de momento, está desarrollando entre bambalinas, pero sobre la que no ha dudado en asegurar que algún día, quizás, “se aplicará como la Thermomix. Hace 30 años la gente se llevaba las manos a la cabeza con un microondas, y ahora es normal”.

“Un chef no solo compra alimentos, crea experiencias, y lo digital se une a lo analógico, es un maridaje habitual el del científico y el chef, el de empujar las fronteras”, ha defendido el ingeniero australiano Adrian Cheok, responsable, entre otras cosas, de un proyecto para la transmisión de olores y sabores electrónicamente.

“La incertidumbre de entrar en terrenos que se desconocen. Muchas veces no sé a dónde voy, pero lo que debemos saber es donde no queremos estar”, ha resaltado Aduriz, que trabaja junto a Cheok. “El proceso de trabajo con alguien creativo tienta desde el alma porque independientemente del resultado, en el proceso va a haber un aprendizaje”.

http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/03/10/estilo/1426010814_194594.html

2015-03-11 / Edu Lartzanguren

Jana konposatu eta inprimatuko dugu

Etorkizuneko janaz eta janaren etorkizunaz mintzatu da ‘gerologo’ australiarra Basque Culinary Centerren. Zapore sintetizadoreekin, inoiz probatu gabekoak dastatuko ditu aurki gizakiak, dioenez.

Gailuen eta gizakien arteko harremanen guru bat da Adrian David Cheok (Adelaide, Australia, 1971). Nonahiko Informatika irakasten du Londresko City Unibertsitatean, hau da, gizakiek ordenagailuekin zelako harremana izango duten makinok bizitzako zokorik bazterrenetara ere heltzen direnean. Sukaldaritzaz mintzatu da Basque Culinary Centerren, Donostian, Sukaldeko solasaldiak ekitaldian.

Internet bidez, zaporeak eta usainak zabaltzeko garatu dituzun gailuak erakutsi dituzu. Ziur zaude jendeak gauzak usaindu nahi dituela Internetez edo telefonoz?

Jendeak ikusten du gero eta gehiago komunikatzen garela Internet bidez, baina konturatzen dira oraindik oso zaila dela zure benetako bizipenak eta emozioak komunikatzea. Laster, bost zentzumenak erabiliko ditugu Internet bidez: elkar besarkatuko dugu, ukituko, usainduko. Elkarrekin bazkaldu ahalko dugu Internet bidez. Telepresentzia mota berria izango da. Gure ikerketen arabera, jendeak erreakzio positiboagoa du, telefonoan, irudiaz gain, ikusten duenaren usaina jasotzen duenean. Gaur, janaren irudiak dira bigarren kategoria nagusia Instagramen. Zaporea eta usaina bidaltzerik dutenean, sekulako merkatua egongo da hor.

Duela 30 urte 2015. urterako norberak bere helikopteroa izango zuela esaten zuten. Ez al zaio berdin gertatuko zuk iragarri duzun etorkizunari?

Gustu sorgailu elektronikoa hemen dago. Prototipoa da, baina primeran dabil. Zure mingaineko gustu hargailuak zuzenean kitzikatzen ditu, eta gozoa zein gazia burmuinean sortzen dizkizu, gai kimikorik gabe, digitalki. Zaporeak bidal ditzakezu Internetez, gaur musika eta irudiak bidaltzen dituzun bezala. Era berean, usaimena zuzenean kitzikatzeko eremu magnetikoak erabili nahi ditugu. Japonian eta AEBetan salgai daude jada usain mezuak bidaltzeko gailu hauek [telefonoan bidali usaina tekla sakatu du, eta lore usaina zabaldu da]. Oskar Mayer haragi etxearekin iratzargailu hau egin genuen: hirugiharrak zartaginean frijitzean egiten duen zaratarekin eta botatzen duen usainarekin esnatzen zaitu [sakatu du: hirugihar lurrina hedatu da].

Zure familiak zerikusia du garatzen ari zaren teknologiarekin?

Bai. Erdi malaysiarra naiz eta erdi greziarra. Familia dut Malaysian, Grezian eta Australian. Ezinezkoa zait denekin fisikoki elkartzea, baina, honekin, Gabonetako afari birtual bat izan ahalko dugu, eta janaren usaina zein gustua partekatu munduan sakabanatuta egonda ere. Interneten hurrengo fasean, bizipenak partekatzea izango da garrantzitsuena.

Gaur musikarako sintetizadoreak dauden bezala, jana edo zaporeak digitalki sortuko direla diozu. Baina benetan jan ahalko ditugu?

Bai. CDak sortu zituztenean jendeak uste zuen Beethovenen 9. Sinfonia orkestra etxean balego bezala entzuteko zela bakarrik. Baina, musika digital egin zenean, konposatzeko modua bera ere aldatu egin zen, eta genero berriak sortu ziren. Gustua eta usaina digitalizatzen ditugunean, jendeak hasieran esango du: «Hara, txokolate tarta baten zaporea bidali ahalko dut». Baina benetako iraultza izango da hasiko garela bestelako jana programatzen eta 3D inprimagailu batekin inprimatzen. Gustu berriak izango dira, orain usaindu ere egiten ez ditugunak. Jana konposatu, inprimatu eta Internetez banatuko dugu laster.

Malaysiara joango zara. Errazago onartzen dituzte teknologia berri hauek Asian Europan baino?

Ikerketa institutu bat eratuko dut han, Interneten geroa imajinatzeaz gain, benetako gailuak sortzeko. Europa zoragarria da sorkuntzarako, Pizkundetik dabilelako mugak hautsi nahian. Asia tradizionalagoa da, baina oso ongi onartzen ditu robotak, budismoan edozein gauzak duelako arima. Europa eta Asia lankidetzan hasten badira, oso ideia sendoak eta berriak sortuko dira.

http://www.berria.eus/paperekoa/1845/040/001/2015-03-11/jana_konposatu_eta_inprimatuko_dugu.htm

Nicola Davis, Monday 9 March 2015

Why are humans attracted to intense, thrilling experiences that expose us to danger?

Nicola Davis is joined by Professor Adrian David Cheok of City University London. He’s the founder of the Mixed Reality Lab in Singapore. Also in the studio isProfessor Brendan Walker, the artist-engineer behind Neurosis, a mixed-reality thrill ride which will be shown at FutureFest, a weekend of immersive experiences, performances and speakers designed to excite and challenge perceptions of the future. Joining them is the journalist Kit Buchan, who recently tried out Brendan’s Neurosis ride.

Can virtual experiences provoke the same responses as real ones? Where is science and technology taking us next in our search for strange and extreme thrills? And should we be wary of the physical and psychological consequences of virtual reality?

http://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2015/mar/09/futurefest-virtual-reality-extreme-thrills

Adrian Cheok talks about Digital Taste and Smell on BBC Wales – Good Evening Wales

Listen on BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b051rmtr

Adrian Cheok talks about Digital Taste and Smell on The Breakfast Show with Penny Smith and Paul Ross, BBC London.

Listen on BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02hnyhf

08:20am, 9 Feb 2015 on BBC Radio 5

Also see: Kissenger and RingU

06:18am, 9 Feb 2015 on BBC Radio 5

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02jlvqg

Also see: Smell and Taste

Copyright © 2015 euronews

http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/02/share-touch-smell-and-taste-via-the-internet/

Imagine an Apple iPhone that smells like an apple or a Blackberry that taste sweet or a Windows Touch-phone that squeezes you in mid-conversation. Scientists in London have made more progress in the now-common smartphone to make the audio-visual communication transcend tool what engineers call “the glass barrier” and create an experience that is more 4-D.

Professor Adrian David Cheok of the University of London said of his technology, “In the real world, we can open up the glass, open the window. We can touch, we can taste, we can smell in the real world.”

How do inanimate smartphones deliver the sensation of senses?

First you will have to open your mouth and say, “Ah!” The human tongue’s surface has molecules, also known as tastebuds, that through chemical ionization send the brain electrical signals of a specific amplitude depending on which type of taste: sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. Scientist have found a way to send these signals — minus the calories — to savor. This process was explained by Professor Cheok.

“You put these two silver electrodes in your mouth, you put your tongue in between and then it stimulates electrically your tongue and you get a virtual taste perception in your brain.” So far, scientists have reproduced sour, salty, sweet and bitter tastes, it will take further exploration to make all the taste we are accustomed to eat like Bacon.

At the push of a button you are now able to deliver an array of scents to smell. The device and app “Scentee” is an attachment to plug into your smart phone that holds a cartridge of 100 different smells, from fresh fruits, lavender or jasmine, to fresh ground coffee, that can be sprayed when prompted by the other side of the conversation. Professor Cheok relayed, “Basically what happens, we have an app, it connects to the Internet and then this will release scent from your mobile phone.” Think of the added benefit of sending your friend a hint of lemon scent when they say they are having a bad day or the scent of cookies because you know they are not hungry when you are.

Have you even been in a conversation and the other person for a moment stops paying attention or loses focus? Well, as long as you put a ring on them that is connected wirelessly to your smartphone, you can gently squeeze their finger to regain their attention or focus in mid-conversation. “I can be in London and my friend can be in Tokyo, and I can squeeze my finger and then they’ll get a squeeze on their finger through the Internet. It’s a way of touch communication with small mobile devices,” said Professor Cheok.

With the development of smart technology, from phones to homes, the barriers of pan-sensual communication will soon be memories of the past. Professor Cheok hopes the devices developed will soon be added to smartphone and homes to further transcend the current limitations of long distance communication.

By Mark A.G. Cox

http://thespeaker.co/smartphones-smell-taste-feel-great/

Sunday, January 18, 2015, 00:01

The sense of smell is the next frontier for smartphones.

One of technology’s modern truisms is that if you can imagine it, there’s an app for it. Do you want to book a table for dinner, spy on your neighbour, fool your colleagues into thinking that you’re busy working when in fact you’re taking a nap (iNap@Work), check if a watermelon is actually ripe by analysing the sound it makes (Melon Meter), and pop a virtual pimple? Yes, there’s an app for all that and more.

It is this sheer availability of apps that has transformed phones from a device for calling and sending messages into a tool that can help you do anything you want, and then some more.

There’s just one sense which no app has managed to captureyet: smell.

As the humblest of senses, smell is frequently underrated. And yet, without smell, food would taste different because while taste can distinguish between sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savoury, it is the interaction between taste and smell which cooks up the real flavour of food. Without smell, you wouldn’t enjoy the dark pleasure of a freshly brewed early morning coffee. And no wardrobe is complete without a quick dash of perfume behind the ears.

Smell is the next frontier for smartphones. And we’re getting there. In 2013, chef Ferran Adria hosted a webcast in which he invited academics and developers to submit proposals to help him create an online gastronomic resource: Bullipedia. One of the shortlisted proposals, put together by Professor Adrian Cheok, founder and director of Singapore’s Mixed Reality Lab, has now been commercially developed by Japanese firm ChatPerf into Scentee.

It’s still early days for Scentee. However, it carries huge potential, especially for marketing and gaming purposes. In the US, bacon company Oscar Meyer has come up with an alarm clock which, when attached to your smartphone, wakes you up with the smell of sizzling bacon. How’s that for a good morning? And even though Scentee might have failed to win favour with Ferran Adria, another Michelin-starred restaurant, Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain, is using the app as a pre-dinner treat for customers.

The Scentee code has also been released, which means that developers can write their own scent-based apps. The Parisian design centre Le Laboratoire is also developing its own smell device: the oPhone. The device, which will be available this spring, is a phone that emits various smells to music and at the time of its release, will be able to emit 300,000 unique smells. This means that, for instance, instead of traditional messages, friends with oPhones can send each other smells: just imagine waking up your wife with the smell of coffee or sending a rose-scented message to a date.

Smell-centred communication has other potential applications. Digital olfaction can fuel healthcare applications: researchers are studying the possibility of using an e-nose to deliver early diagnosis of cancer through chemicals in the blood. Smelling devices can also be used as a cognitive aid for Alzheimer’s sufferers and to detect chemical offgassing from hidden weapons.

Before you rush off to compose a smell to send to your friend, remember that smell-centred communication is still in its early stages. But give it a couple of years and sending and receiving smells could be as normal as transmitting sight and sound.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150118/technology/Wake-up-and-smell-the-message.552536

by MICHELLE MOONS 20 Dec 2014

Virtual scent seekers in pursuit of that scent-selfie, fragrant floral photo, or a scent to accompany that Instagram food shot may be in luck. Debate continues, however, over whether scent technology will be the next leading tech breakthrough in 2015.

Technology already exists to send scent digital smells with Japanese application and cell phone attachment Scentee, reports Nesta. Though not yet mainstream, “Scentee uses alcohol-based aroma cartridges which come in specific flavours and are housed inside a small plastic device that attaches to the headphone input of a smartphone.”

New research being developed by Scentee technology creator Adrian Cheok, a professor at City University London, would eliminate the need for those scent cartridges but would employ the possibly undesirable option of a mouthguard device that would send magnetic signals reportedly stimulating the olfactory bulb.

First conceived fifty years back and long considered a stinker, Nesta forecasts scent transmission as one of its top 10 predictions for 2015.

Research has not been waylaid over scent technology naysayers. At the University of California San Diego, researchers released results in 2011 of a two-year experiment regarding adding scents to a television or cell phone experience. Questions remained at the time that continue today as to the widespread appeal of such technology to consumers.

Scent technology-pursuing companies continue in their quest for success. Nesta also brings up oPhone, “a pipe-shaped device made for receiving scent messages (called oNotes) triggered by an iPhone app called oSnap.”

Improvement of scent tech mechanics is also accompanied by the effects of implementing the technology. Nesta reports Professor Cheok and a City University team of researchers have been “studying the effect of synthetic smells, sent via the Internet, on emotions.”

While past opinion has been set against scent tech, researchers continue to put effort into both the mechanics of transmission and the effectiveness-evidence to sell the worth of the product.

http://www.breitbart.com/california/2014/12/20/scent-technology-sweet-or-stinker-in-2015/