MIT Shows Off Cornucopia Food Printer Concept

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The MIT Fluid Interfaces Group has teased a new technology that could change the way short order restaurants — and us at home –  prepare our meals.  The MIT Cornucopia Food Printer Concept does precisely what it’s name suggests, it prints food by using ingredients as its ink.

The MIT Cornucopia Food Printer includes a series of cartridge-style ingredient canisters, a loader tray for these canisters and a base unit that acts as both a mixing bowl and a heating unit.  The user sets the ingredient cartridges on the loader tray, selects the recipe from a front-stationed UI, then the machine does the rest of the work.  It adds ingredients in a proper sequence and mixes and heats them as needed.

Sound appetizing?  We didn’t think so either, but the MIT Cornucopia Food Printer is deserving of recognition.  In short order restaurants, assembly-line style food is the norm, where a series of ingredients (that may appear unappetizing on their own) are merged in a rather machine-like process that yields a final entree.  When you break it down to that level, is the MIT Cornucopia Food Printer really that different?  It may be difficult to imagine what entree would be created solely from liquid ingredients, but the possibilities are quite numerous.  Any new technology stands to be refined and developed, so we’re excited to see just how far this food prep concept can be taken.