A Study on Simulating Spicy Sensation Using Thermal Grill Illusion on the Tongue

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel method to virtually simulate the sensation of spiciness by applying thermal grill illusion to the human tongue. We describe our tongue stimulator equipped with interlaced warm and cool bars. To evaluate the effectiveness of this method, the system was experimentally tested in two studies. The first experimental results show that spicy taste was perceived by causing thermal grill illusion on the tongue. The second experimental results show that the strength of spicy perception is affected by both of average temperature and difference in temperature between warm and cool stimuli.