Up to this point, 3D printing has been something of a niche technology, as continual improvements are made to the experimental hardware and software. One of the areas that researchers are investigating is 3D-printed food, and experts at the Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center in Massachusetts have been looking into ways that Army rations could be produced remotely in the future.
Meals made to order means there's less waste and more variety, something that can have a significant impact when crates of food need to be transported thousands of miles. Another scenario is that soldiers could download and print out a dish based on the ingredients they've managed to forage from wherever they happen to be. While it's still some way from becoming a reality, it points to the potential that 3D printing technology offers.
"The benefits of actively participating in the advancement of 3D printing to the Army are great," said Andy Davis, Army Manufacturing Technology program manager, when speaking to Army Technology magazine. "Coupled with the reality of being able to minimize or eliminate support tooling, 3D printing has nearly limitless applications."
And one of those applications relates to food. The reality of the Army ration system means that meals are produced on a massive and uniform scale, but even if 3D chefs can't improve the taste, they can at least create something more personalized and tailored towards a specific soldier's diet. For now, most 3D food printers output a customized paste or confectionery mixture, but refinements to the technology are being made all the time.
"We're interested in maybe printing food that is tailored to a soldier's nutritional needs and then applying another novel process to render it shelf stable, if needed," says Lauren Oleksyk of the Natick Research Center. "Another potential application may be 3D printing a pizza, baking it, packaging it and putting it in a ration."
There's no set date for when 3D-printed rations might arrive or even when testing might begin, but it's an interesting glimpse into how the future of food on the battlefield or in the disaster zone might look.
SEE ALSO: Here's Why 3-D Printing Is Still A Niche Product In Enterprise