Ever wondered if that old carton of fruit juice lurking in the back of your fridge is still safe to drink? Now, there’s a cutting-edge solution that could put your mind at ease: an AI-powered ‘electronic tongue.’ This innovative system, reported in the prestigious journal Nature, goes beyond simply tasting to analyze the safety and freshness of food and beverages.
At its core, the ‘electronic tongue’ utilizes an ion-sensitive field-effect transistor – a device that detects chemical ions. This sensor, acting like a human tongue, gathers information about the ions present in a liquid, converting it into an electrical signal that a computer can understand.
But the magic truly happens with the AI. The research team linked the sensor to an artificial neural network, a machine-learning system that mimics the way our brains process information. This network, acting as the ‘gustatory cortex’ (the brain region responsible for taste perception), interprets the sensor data to determine the characteristics of the liquid.
The researchers first trained the neural network to analyze the acidity of various liquids. Impressively, the AI achieved an accuracy rate of over 95%, surpassing the initial accuracy of 91% achieved when given predefined parameters.
To put the ‘electronic tongue’ to the test, the researchers applied it to real-world beverages. The system successfully distinguished between similar soft drinks or coffee blends, identified instances of watered-down milk, and detected harmful per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. It even proved adept at identifying spoiled fruit juice.
The researchers further employed a method called Shapley Additive Explanations to pinpoint the key parameters used by the neural network in its decision-making process. This breakthrough could shed light on how these neural networks make their judgments, a topic that remains a central question in AI research.
As the lead researcher, Saptarshi Das, explains, “We found that the network looked at more subtle characteristics in the data — things we, as humans, struggle to define properly.” This holistic approach allows the ‘electronic tongue’ to account for natural variations, making it more reliable than traditional ion-sensitive field-effect transistors.
The ‘electronic tongue’ holds enormous potential for various applications, ranging from ensuring food safety to monitoring environmental contamination. Its ability to adapt and account for variations makes it a robust tool for the future of food and beverage analysis. With this AI-powered innovation, we can confidently face those questionable cartons of juice with newfound peace of mind.