i3 - May/June 2019 - 18

Tech

By Murray Slovick

A T EC H TO WATC H

3D-Printed Synthetic Sushi

The Japanese company Open Meals
recently presented an assortment of 3D
printed sushi that emulates - or at least
tries to - the appearance, texture and
taste of the real thing, while adding
DNA testing to the recipe.
To operate, a user selects the food they
want from a patent-pending "Food Base"
digital food database that stores pertinent
information (flavor, shape, color, nutrients
and texture) of different kinds of sushi.
Open Meals says its Food Base is the
world's first digital food platform where
food data is collected in a manner similar
to music distribution sites.
The company says it will be possible to
upload, search, download and share food
data, whether homemade dishes or from
five-star restaurants. When a sushi chef
makes a piece in a restaurant in Tokyo it
will be scanned and subsequently "teleported" - reproduced at the location of
the Open Meals Pixel Food Printer - so
you can eat the recreated food anywhere
in the world. A robotic arm prints out
small cubes in the shape of the food
made from edible gel. In each layer the
printer injects each pixel with different
flavors, colors, nutrients, etc., which are
then combined together.
18

MAY/JUNE 2019

Keeping it Relevant

One unique element of the Open Meals
process is that nutrients can be added
to food to meet the requirements of
the diner. This is done via DNA
sampling. Open Foods says in the
future that when you make a reservation at Sushi Singularity, the
company's proposed restaurant
in Tokyo, you will receive a
health test kit in the mail.
Your job is to send back a

Open Meals can also
3D print pixelated
wasabi to go with
your sushi.

sample, which can
be saliva, but also
other samples associated with medical testing.
It is then analyzed with
regard to what kinds of nutrients your body needs. When
you visit the restaurant, the necessary proteins, vitamins, minerals
and other nutrients will be added to
your 3D-printed dinner.
Because it can help to convert alternative ingredients such as proteins from
algae or other vegetable proteins into
foodstuff products, 3D printing opens the
door to food customization that meets the
individual needs and preferences of the
sick, athletes, and those who are vegetarian, vegan or have gluten-free
requirements. In this way, 3D food
printing can add a vegetarian take on
traditional meals. Using 3D printing
formulations, plant-based ingredients
can be substituted for the complex substance that is meat.

Any Hitches?

Yup, two pretty big ones. Shape-wise
actual sushi is not pixelated (the Open
Meals shapes are reminiscent of early
video game graphics). Open Meals says
it is aiming to shrink the pixel blocks
from its current 5mm size so the look
will be more realistic when printed.
But how does it taste? According to
published reports, the synthetic sushi
left a lot to be desired and Open Meals
admits that more work has to be done
to get the gel formulations to have the
right flavors.
Open Meals, in conjunction with
marketing firm Dentsu, have set out to
open Sushi Singularity next year to customize its sushi to individual dietary
needs. When a diner walks into the restaurant the plan is to map their facial
features, identify them via computer
facial recognition software and prepare
a meal accordingly.
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

Courtesy of Open Meals

 N 

ew applications are
ground zero in the
war to win the
hearts and minds of the 3D
printing consumer market. As
evidence, CES 2019 attracted
78 3D printer manufacturers,
3D scanning companies and
3D printing material suppliers. Applications ranged from
3D printed fake fingernails
for nail salons to 3D printers
that extruded chocolate in
fun shapes and patterns
(you can even upload pictures
via an app).
i3 - May/June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - May/June 2019
