Sentez!

Sentez!
gears_and_cams
laser_cutting
trying
putting_together

Inspiration

We believe our senses shape who we are—they offer us communication with the world. Today, we’re spotlighting two of them: smell and taste.

For us as French people, swirling wine is almost a ritual. It helps the wine “open up” by increasing contact with air, so aromas rise to the nose before the first sip. In fluid dynamics terms, it’s a form of orbital shaking that promotes efficient mixing and gas exchange.

But here’s the problem: are we swirling the right way, every time? Sentez! is our answer: a glass agitator designed to reproduce the right motion consistently on its own—so the wine opens up the same way, every time.

What it does

Our device securely holds a wine glass and swirls it in a controlled circular motion at an optimized speed to help the wine release aromas. This speed is derived from EPFL’s fluid-dynamics study Surface wave dynamics in orbital shaken cylindrical containers.

How we built it

We built the prototype around a NEMA 17 stepper motor controlled by an Arduino, mounted on a rigid base plate. The motor drives a set of gears and a cam mechanism (made by cutting acrylic and wood) to create the circular motion. To secure the glass and keep assembly simple, we used magnets and a 3D-printed "socket". For the final look, we designed a wonderful circular wooden frame and fabricated it with 2D laser cutting. Main fabrication methods: laser cutting, 3D printing, and gluing/assembly.

What's next for Sentez!

We could add a Sentez! app that helps wine amateurs learn aromas while they taste, with a simple aroma wheel and quick notes after each glass. Over time it learns what you like through ML algorithms and, using a wine database, suggests bottles you should try next, with a short “why this one” explanation.