Terminator 4: The Machines Think You're Tasty

2muchcoffeeman · Nov 9, 2006

Japanese unveil robot wine steward

TSU, Japan — The ability to discern good wine from bad, name the specific brand from a tiny sip and recommend a complementary cheese would seem to be about as human a skill as there is.

In Japan, robots are doing it.

Researchers at NEC System Technologies and Mie University have designed a robot that can taste — an electromechanical sommelier able to identify dozens of different wines, cheeses and hors d'oeuvres.

. . .

At the end of the robot's left arm is an infrared spectrometer. When objects are placed up against the sensor, the robot fires off a beam of infrared light. The reflected light is then analyzed in real time to determine the object's chemical composition.

"All foods have a unique fingerprint," Shimazu said. "The robot uses that data to identify what it is inspecting right there on the spot."

. . .

Of the thousands of wines on the market, the robot can be programmed to accurately identify only a few dozen at most. It also has more trouble with the task after the bottle has been opened and the wine begins to breathe and thus transform chemically.

"Wines are notoriously similar in their spectral fingerprints," Shimazu said. "The variation this robot detects is very subtle."

Some of the mistakes it makes would get a human sommelier fired — or worse.

When a reporter's hand was placed against the robot's taste sensor, it was identified as prosciutto. A cameraman was mistaken for bacon.
Click to expand...

kokane_muthashed · Nov 9, 2006

Glad to see they made it small. It will be easier to stop if it turns on us. [/dwightschrute]

BYH · Nov 9, 2006

It can't be worse than Terminator 3.

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Terminator 4: The Machines Think You're Tasty

2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

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Terminator 4: The Machines Think You're Tasty

2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

kokane_muthashed Active Member

BYH Active Member

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