Exploring how technology could change the way we interact with food

Researchers are checking out how foreseeable future “human-meals conversation” technologies could deliver totally new ordeals and novel techniques to interact with food stuff.

From the generation of 3D-printed customized flavors to help the remember of recollections for older people to style-primarily based representations of digital file download, future food stuff technologies could offer a extensive variety of alternatives, say scientists.

These novel applications for potential human-food conversation technologies are imagined as part of a not long ago revealed analyze by a crew of Human-Laptop Conversation researchers from Lancaster College and Dovetailed Ltd. Their paper explores previous analysis into systems and food items, and identifies new avenues for future investigate.

Other tips include things like digital avatars that curate much more conscious eating encounters, flavor representations of thoughts that can be exchanged by romantic partners, or wise tableware that encourages wholesome eating by prompting diners to slow down their chewing speeds.

The scientists undertook a systematic literature evaluate of 109 tutorial papers looking at systems and food, and they also performed interviews with 18 professional chefs to study more about novel artistic strategies the chefs use to greatly enhance dining encounters.

The research seemed at the sensory, emotional, cognitive, and social facets of eating encounters, as properly as insights from the cooks all-around the use of flavors and emotion, functionality, the worth of sensory deprivation as perfectly as stimulation, and cultural factors around foods.

As nicely as finding new avenues of human-food conversation study, the analysis staff intended a conceptual framework for building new style and person experiences, which will be of use to the human-laptop conversation investigate group.

Professor Corina Sas, of Lancaster University and co-writer of the paper, explained, “A range of technological know-how has been researched and formulated all-around food items, from digital probes that promote flavor, to energy counting apps. Our investigation normally takes inventory of current food technologies investigate, and by interviews with experienced cooks, we identify new spots for scientists and designers to discover where new systems could increase our ordeals close to foodstuff.

“There is a ton of probable for technologies close to foods to assist elicit feelings, help memory recall, support storytelling and aid control healthy eating behaviors, for illustration.”

Dr. Tom Gayler, co-author of the study, mentioned, “This function not only helps have an understanding of the ways foodstuff can be applied right now with the systems we previously know about, but also provides tips for new ordeals and new technological solutions.

“This paper presents style resources for anybody intrigued in food stuff, taking in, and the overall body to use, assisting them generate richer and more partaking interactions.”

The investigate is outlined in the paper “Checking out the Design House for Human-Food items-Technological know-how Conversation: An Method from the Lens of Eating Experiences’ which has been released by ACM Transactions on Human-Pc Interaction.

The paper’s authors are Dr. Tom Gayler, formerly of Lancaster University, Professor Corina Sas, Lancaster University, and Vaiva Kalnikaité of Dovetailed Ltd.