We have previously proposed a novel method to present virtual food texture by using electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to the masseter muscle, which is one of the muscles of mastication. Our system is "Electric Food Texture System" consisting of "bite detection part", "food texture database", and "electric stimulation part". We use a photoreflector to measure motion of user's lower jaw for "bite detection", electromyography sensors to measure food texture for "food texture database", and a medical electrical stimulator for "electric stimulation". In this paper, we present an application which presented virtual food texture of a gummy candy, a chocolate, a potato chip, and a rice cracker by using EMS and chewing sound. A user study showed that the reality of it was increased by using both EMS and chewing sound.
['Arinobu Niijima', 'Takefumi Ogawa']
Virtual food texture by electrical muscle stimulation