Liquid nitrogen infused drinks, lab grown burgers, ultrasound modified spices - there's almost nothing the modern high-tech kitchen doesn't provide. 3D printers don’t stop at the kitchen door either: Printed chocolate art decorates contemporary patisserie and turns it into little pieces of art. But NASA’s 3D printed pizza? Who on earth wants that?
Sun-ripened tomatoes, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil and the smell of pizza dough baking in the oven. Dough patties swirl through the air, a glass of red wine is within reach, and the espresso machine eludes a delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee. Food indulgence the Italian way. Pizza commercials like this make your mouth watery.
Now imagine this: A calibrated robot arm mechanically moves back and forth while squeezing dough and other ingredients from its artificial nozzles onto a tray. The one minute it takes to produce the desired result, a pizza, to take shape, seems agonizingly long. The many tubes on the apparatus give the impression the pizza is hooked up to life-supporting machines.
In any case, this scene doesn't make you think of a delightful dinner. It doesn't help that the dough is printed in a heart shape either. The question "What's the point?" comes to mind. The answer: The target market for this monstrosity is outer space. It was not intended for earthlings to begin with.
One small step for mankind, one giant leap for astronauts
The 3D pizza printer was developed for NASA as a way for astronauts to occasionally enjoy more appetizing food during longer stays in space - like on a Mars mission, for example. From an astronaut's perspective, that makes sense: Compared to freeze-dried, powdered astronaut food, printed pizza certainly constitutes a culinary breakthrough.
But what amounts to a quantum leap on Mars isn't necessarily a big step for humanity. People living on Earth usually have fairly easy access to the next Italian restaurant or can pop a frozen pizza in the oven if need be. So, it will be hard to explain the benefits of the 3D-prinzed pizza to the average earthling.
That wouldn't be a problem if the start-up who created the astronaut pizza printer wasn't now trying to appeal to earthlings as well: The NASA prototype has been adapted for the commercial market, and with $1 million in seed-funding, the product is set to conquer the Earth market segment under the name "Chef 3D." Mission earth will be launched in selected theme parks, sports stadiums and shopping malls. "The advantage is that the robot works faster, more sterile and more evenly than a human pizza baker", the developers explain.
Delicious. Those are exactly the attributes I would NOT use to describe a crispy, hot-steaming, fragrant pizza: "Sterile fast-food one-size-fits-all pizza" is certainly not a compelling USP. Maybe that works in the U.S. market, but in Europe we take our time to wine and dine, we don't make and eat pizza with a stopwatch pointed at us.
Houston, we have a problem
3D printers are a fascinating invention in their own right with highly useful applications: Just think of all the rare spare parts we can now print easily. However, get your robotic hands off my food! Yes, in patisserie printed chocolate delicacies may enhance the food experience. Robotic arms can do precision work very well and can support the confectioners, after all.
But if you want to successfully launch new technologies intended to replace previously common processes - such as manual pizza baking - in new markets, it is usually advantageous to start with people's needs: And who on earth needs a 3D pizza printer? What problem does the technology solve? For astronauts in space, the technology fulfills the need for better food, but for people living on Earth, it is not an insurmountable problem to enjoy a crispy, fresh stone-baked pizza directly at home or in a nearby restaurant.
And speed, sterility and standardization are hardly convincing arguments when it comes to delightful cuisine.
As many cultures understand very well: Coming together to cook and dine is about much more than just getting food into your body. It’s a social event to connect and bond with other people. So don’t let robotic high-precision machines take all pleasure out of your meals and enjoy La Dolce Vita together with your fellow human beings!
Foto von Womanizer Toys auf Unsplash
This piece was originally published in the Austrian technology magazine e-media in my monthly column “Code Red” (German edition) in a slightly different version.