

Cornucopia: The 3D Printer for Food

We’ve heard a lot about 3D printers being used to make things, but would you eat what comes out a 3D printer? MIT researcher Marcelo Coelho thinks that you might. He has created a 3D printer called Cornucopia that creates food for you out of fresh ingredients using robotic tools that Betty Crocker could have never imagined. Coelho’s invention is designed to help people get away from processed foods and eat fresh meals that are built at home.

The machine stores, mixes and cooks and even cools ingredients together to create “digital gastronomy.” Check it out:

Its cooking process starts with an array of food canisters, which refrigerate and store a user’s favorite ingredients. These are piped into a mixer and extruder head that can accurately deposit elaborate food combinations with sub-millimeter precision. While the deposition takes place, the food is heated or cooled by the Fabricator’s chamber or the heating and cooling tubes located on the printing head. This fabrication process not only allows for the creation of flavors and textures that would be completely unimaginable through other cooking techniques, but, through a touch-screen interface and web connectivity, also allows users to have ultimate control over the origin, quality, nutritional value and taste of every meal.

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