A 'robot chef' has been trained to taste food to check if it is salty enough.
A 'robot chef' is capable of tasting the salt in food
A probe, which acts like a saltiness sensor, was attached to a robot arm and 'tasted' variations of tomatoes and scrambled eggs and gave readings at different points of chewing. The 'taste as you go' approach enhanced the robot's ability to assess the saltiness of the dish.
It replicates the behaviour of humans, as people notice a change in taste and texture as saliva and enzymes are released when chewing food.
Experts at Cambridge University suggest that the results, which have been published in the Frontiers in Robotics and AI journal, could aid the development of automated food preparation by helping robots spot what has a good flavour.
Study co-author Dr. Arsen Abdulali said: "The robot can 'see' the difference in the food as it's chewed, which improves its ability to taste."