Contactless Fluid Manipulation in Air: Droplet Coalescence and Active Mixing by Acoustic Levitation

Acoustic manipulation by an ultrasonic phased array provides an entirely new approach to processes such as coalescence, mixing, separation, and evaporation occurring in the generation of new materials, physical property measurement, the biomedical industry, etc. However, to date, ultrasonic phased arrays have not been fully investigated for applications in fluid manipulation. This paper provides contactless coalescence and mixing techniques for droplets in air by controlling the acoustic potential by using an ultrasonic phased array. We focused on mode oscillation to propose an efficient mixing technique for liquid without contact. A comparison of mixing performance between cases with mode oscillation and without mode oscillation showed that the flow induced by mode oscillation promotes droplet mixing. Our paper demonstrates the feasibility of contactless coalescence and mixing as a first step in fluid manipulation with a phased array

LeviSense: a platform for the multisensory integration in levitating food and insights into its effect on flavour perception

Eating is one of the most multisensory experiences in everyday life. All of our five senses (i.e. taste, smell, vision, hearing and touch) are involved, even if we are not aware of it. However, while multisensory integration has been well studied in psychology, there is not a single platform for testing systematically the effects of different stimuli. This lack of platform results in unresolved design challenges for the design of taste-based immersive experiences. Here, we present LeviSense: the first system designed for multisensory integration in gustatory experiences based on levitated food. Our system enables the systematic exploration of different sensory effects on eating experiences. It also opens up new opportunities for other professionals (e.g., molecular gastronomy chefs) looking for innovative taste-delivery platforms. We describe the design process behind LeviSense and conduct two experiments to test a subset of the crossmodal combinations (i.e., taste and vision, taste and smell). Our results show how different lighting and smell conditions affect the perceived taste intensity, pleasantness, and satisfaction. We discuss how LeviSense creates a new technical, creative, and expressive possibilities in a series of emerging design spaces within Human-Food Interaction

Multimodal acoustic trapping display

The Multimodal Acoustic Trapping Display (MATD) makes use of ultrasound to trap, quickly move and color a particle, to create volumetric shapes in mid-air. Using the pressure delivered by ultrasound, the MATD can also create high-pressure points that our hands can feel and induce air vibrations that create audible sound

Beyond the Langevin horn: transducer arrays for the acoustic levitation of liquid drops

The acoustic levitation of liquid drops has been a key phenomenon for more than 40 years, driven partly by the ability to mimic a microgravity environment. It has seen more than 700 research articles published in this time and has seen a recent resurgence in the past 5 years, thanks to low cost developments. As well as investigating the basic physics of levitated drops, acoustic levitation has been touted for container free delivery of samples to a variety of measurements systems, most notably in various spectroscopy techniques including Raman and Fourier transform infrared in addition to numerous X-ray techniques. For 30 years, the workhorse of the acoustic levitation apparatus was a stack comprising a piezoelectric transducer coupled to a horn shaped radiative element often referred to as the Langevin horn. Decades of effort have been dedicated to such devices, paired with a matching and opposing device or a reflector, but they have a significant dependence on temperature and require precision alignment. The last decade has seen a significant shift away from these in favor of arrays of digitally driven, inexpensive transducers, giving a new dynamic to the topic which we review herein

LeviSense: A platform for the multisensory integration in levitating food and insights into its effect on flavour perception

Eating is one of the most multisensory experiences in everyday life. All of our five senses (i.e. taste, smell, vision, hearing and touch) are involved, even if we are not aware of it. However, while multisensory integration has been well studied in psychology, there is not a single platform for testing systematically the effects of different stimuli. This lack of platform results in unresolved design challenges for the design of taste-based immersive experiences. Here, we present LeviSense: the first system designed for multisensory integration in gustatory experiences based on levitated food. Our system enables the systematic exploration of different sensory effects on eating experiences. It also opens up new opportunities for other professionals (e.g., molecular gastronomy chefs) looking for innovative taste-delivery platforms. We describe the design process behind LeviSense and conduct two experiments to test a subset of the crossmodal combinations (i.e., taste and vision, taste and smell). Our results show how different lighting and smell conditions affect the perceived taste intensity, pleasantness, and satisfaction. We discuss how LeviSense creates a new technical, creative, and expressive possibilities in a series of emerging design spaces within Human-Food Interaction