A pair of MIT graduates have developed a enjoyable and intelligent method to decrease the quantity of meals waste despatched to the landfill. Biru Cao and Yiqing Wang’s FOODres.AI resolution is an AI-powered desktop 3D printer that’s designed to show meals scraps into purposeful family objects.
With a whopping 30-40% of the USA’ meals provide thrown out, the 3D printer just isn’t a systemic resolution to meals waste, however might provide people a artistic method to decrease and reuse their very own natural scraps and set up larger circularity within the family.
The FOODres.AI undertaking was began by means of the framework of the MIT IDEAS program, a social innovation problem that invitations college students to develop artistic options to social and environmental challenges. Cao and Wang had been all in favour of creating a know-how that would successfully rework meals scraps from the kitchen into purposeful merchandise, like coasters, pen holders or different small-scale decorations.
The FOODres.AI resolution consists not solely of a desktop extrusion 3D printing system, but in addition a cellular app powered by AI instruments and a cloth mixing module. Based on the makers of the 3D printer, “The machine and cellular app use AI to type supplies by means of the telephone digicam based mostly on printable recipes. Customers merely drop in meals waste and choose the specified kind and measurement to print objects.”
Gadgets like onion skins and egg shells are detected utilizing a self-trained AI mannequin by means of the person’s cellular app. This software establishes the printability of the scraps and tells the person what natural supplies to place within the built-in materials processing module. This module is essential to the FOODres.AI resolution, because it combines the meals scraps with pure components to create a printable bioplastic slurry. This materials is then fed into the 3D printer, which deposits it onto a construct platform utilizing an extruder with automated heating and materials refill features.
Customers can select from a collection of pre-designed fashions or can create their very own 3D fashions to print. Within the case of the previous, the MIT grads have arrange a user-friendly library with a spread of objects. “The interface is beginner-friendly, guiding customers by means of detection, object choice, and printing. It additionally helps superior customizations, customers can combine supplies for various colours and textures, with AI-assisted changes to make sure print high quality. This flexibility makes the FOODres.AI Printer accessible to everybody, no matter prior expertise with 3D printing,” the undertaking website reads.
Finally, the FOODres.AI undertaking is a resourceful and enjoyable resolution for these all in favour of pursuing larger circularity and exercising their artistic expertise. The undertaking has additionally garnered consideration from the design world, being named the 2025 Platinum Winner on the A’ Design Awards 2024-2025 and profitable an iF Design Award in 2025.