UMinho / Courtesy
Innovation is ecological and low-cost; identifies water, milk, coffee or wines. It could prove decisive in several areas.
It’s a electronic language, ecological and low-cost, which uses artificial intelligence to quickly identify different drinks, such as water, milk, coffee and wines.
The innovation was achieved by researchers from the School of Sciences of the University of Minho (ECUM), alongside the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
The new sustainable electronic language could become decisive in areas such as food quality, customs inspection, oenology, biotechnology and health.
Chama-se HITS (Hydrogel In-Tape Electronic Tongue); imitates the functioning of the human palate, by analyze the electrical signature of each sample in just a few minutes.
“This sensor works with the electrical signature of the drinks, each liquid generates a different signal”, explains researcher Ricardo Brito-Pereira, in a statement sent to ZAP.
Traditional sensors only detect one substance, but this new technology analyzes various types of samples and interprets electrical signals with AI algorithms, distinguishing variations in the composition of liquids.
“It is possible to identify if a wine has been adulterated or if an olive oil is really extra virginquickly and on site, which allows us to act immediately and guarantee the quality of the product for citizens”, details Ricardo.
O price is another key factor: each HITS unit costs less than 1 euro. And it can be operated easily by anyone.
AND manufactured with biodegradable or recyclable materials such as PET plastic, carbon inks and an iota-carrageenan hydrogel, extracted from red algae.
Senentxu Lanceros-Mendez, project coordinator, comments: “It is crucial that monitoring devices that can be used multiple times in many locations have these ecological characteristics.”
The systems that exist, especially in Japanese industry, are “niche, not very sustainable and have longer analysis times”, says Ricardo Brito-Pereira.
