You’re well-versed in virtual pets, virtual reality and many other virtual variants of physical entities. But what about virtual coffee? Yes, this is a ‘thing’, it seems.
The Next Web is at Wired 2013 today in London, where David Edwards, a professor in Biomedical Engineering at Harvard University and founder of Le Labatoire, was on hand to give a glimpse into the future of your favorite caffeinated beverage.
Le
Laboratoire is a contemporary art and design center in Paris, where
creatives experiment “at frontiers of science”, and out of this has come
a virtual coffee bar serving up a series of bean-based experiments
involving beakers and burning, vapors and tubes.
They’re
chiefly sensory-based – while you will get a mild hit of caffeine from
inhaling the various vapors, they won’t give you the full coffee
experience. “It’s much more of a ‘head’ experience,” explains Edwards.
But one of these experiments really caught our attention, which is called ‘the OPHONE’ (not to be confused with OPhone), a little Bluetooth-enabled cylindrical device that emits aromas based on messages sent from a mobile phone.
The
general idea is this: you send your OPHONE-owning friend a quick whiff
of caramel-infused coffee rather than, say, a text message. The
recipient then pulls their OPHONE out of their bag, breathes in a
beautiful blend of the good stuff, and then continues on their way.
From
the sender’s perspective, they have a mobile app from which they
construct coffee-based symphonies – so it may start with caramel, move
on to nut, introduce a hint of chocolate and so on. The OPHONE then
follows these instructions to the note, sending out the smells in
sequence.
In
terms of who might use such technology, well, this remains to be seen.
But foodies, chefs and anyone who enjoys sensory experiences without the
full physical effects could get on board with the kinds of things
coming from Le Laboratoire.
Indeed,
it’s worth noting here that this ‘food and beverage-hacking’ can apply
to anything, including whisky, so if you want to sample various malts
without getting off your head, well, this should be possible just by
breathing in.
As
for the OPHONE specifically, no launch date or price has been set yet,
but it’s expected to go to market in the US some time in 2014.
Meanwhile, be sure to check out all our coverage from Wired 2013 here.
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