Music to your... tongue: the ice cream that plays a melody when licked
If you though ice cream couldn't get any better, this will be music to your ears: two New York City-based artists have created a melodic version of the popular sweet treat.
Lickestra is a design and performance project featuring ice cream that plays musical notes when licked.
The brainchild of food designer Emilie Baltz and smart object designer Carla Diana, the interactive food is placed in a cup that sits inside a plastic cone featuring capacitive sensors embedded within it. The sensors can perceive when ice cream in the cup is touched.
When a tongue makes contact with the ice cream, a signal is sent to an electronic board and then to a computer with stored sound loops of melodies and beats. Licking the ice cream in different ways produces different sounds.
The project was developed in collaboration with Arone Dyer of Buke&Gase, an experimental musical duo known for their use of handmade instruments.
It was debuted in an event in New York's East Village which saw an ‘orchestra' of four lickers playing and eating at the same time. Baltz and Diana now plan to further explore the concept, focusing on tone and tempo.
For more information see emiliebaltz.com or carladiana.com
