MIT students developing 3D printer that turns food waste into household objects
Two MIT students have developed a prototype for a 3D printer that uses artificial intelligence to transform food waste into objects such as cup holders and small containers.
Unlike most 3D printers, which typically use materials like concrete or plastic, FOODres.AI works with unlikely ingredients including fruit peels, coffee grounds and leftover rice.
The machine uses computer vision to analyse each ingredient and guide users until the mixture reaches the right consistency for printing.
"If the starch is not enough, it will ask you to add more starch," said designer Biru Cao, who developed the prototype with fellow student Yiqing Wang.
The US discards more food than any other country in the world. This happens at every level of the food chain, but studies show that the average American household, in particular, wastes on average about 3 to 4.5 pounds of food per week.
This means that Americans waste more than 30 per cent of the food they acquire.
Many companies and non-profits have focused on reducing food waste at the source – through redistribution, composting, or upcycling – but Cao believes there is untapped potential in the waste that remains.
"We can turn food waste into something more meaningful," she told Dezeen.
The idea was born when Cao and Wang, both with backgrounds in design and digital fabrication, noticed the large amounts of discarded food in their local cafeteria.
"We started to think, is it possible for us to print something useful?" said Cao.
During their research, they discovered other designers experimenting with food waste as raw material.
Dutch designer Eric Klarenbeek, for example, has used algae and other organic matter in bioprinting projects, while researchers in Italy have experimented with egg shells to create tile composites for furniture.
FOODres.AI, however, is dedicated solely to residential food waste. The system consists of two connected parts: a blender that grinds ingredients into a paste, and a 3D printer. A heated nozzle at the end softens the material as it is extruded.
The prototype can handle almost any food scraps, including overripe, blackened bananas, stale bread, and slightly wilted or blemished vegetables.
Hard materials like nut shells and fibrous greens are too difficult to process, and anything with visible mould should be avoided for health and safety reasons.
For now, the team has built a partial prototype focused on perfecting the nozzle – something Cao said was the most technically challenging component. In its current form, the printer can only produce a handful of pre-defined items, such as egg holders, cup holders and small containers.
The students' next step is to develop a full version of the machine that allows for greater design flexibility.
"We want to build an online platform and a mobile app so people can upload their 3D prints and share them with the community," said Cao.
The pair imagine a future where the machine could become a household staple, much like the compost bin. After cooking, a user could scan their food scraps with an app, which would identify printable ingredients and calculate the required volume.
The scraps would then be blended, loaded into the printer, and transformed into a fruit bowl, a doorstop or another small, functional object.
Other projects that bring AI into the kitchen include a device that generates recipes based on leftovers
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