At SFC Open Research Forum 2010, Keio University's Yasuaki Kakehi Laboratory exhibited TagCandy, where the sensations produced by candy are varied using augmented reality. By sucking an ordinary candy inserted into the device, users can experience fizzy soda or crisp apple sensations, or even things such as the sensation of fireworks, that can't be achieved in reality.
"This system works in a very simple way. There's a vibration speaker here, and when your mouth touches the candy, a sensor detects your action. First, let's look at the sensor. When your mouth touches the candy, this part tilts, and that's detected by the sensor. The sensor data is output to this vibration speaker. When your tongue touches the vibrating candy, you receive a sensation, and when your teeth touch the candy, you hear a sound through bone conduction."
At the International Student Virtual Reality Contest 2010, TagCandy won the Japan VR Society Award and the DCEXPO ConTEX Award.
People who tried TagCandy said the fizzy sensation was very realistic, and many people said the fantastic sensations, including fireworks and airplanes, were a lot of fun.
"What we're thinking about now is how to improve the sensor. We'd like the system to detect biting and other forms of interaction, instead of just sucking the candy, and to give different forms of vibration as output. We're also thinking about sharing candy sensations via the Internet. For example, you could buy a plain candy at a store, put it in this device, and download sensations. So we'd like to consider how to provide that kind of information service."
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