Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.
On October 17th 2022, Osaka University in Japan announced that a team of researchers there had developed a way to unobtrusively 3D print QR codes into cookies. (Data-containing tags are commonly used in the food industry, for example radio frequency identification tags for automated product tracking.) The team named their method interiqr.
While the world tries to reduce the use of food packaging more generally, the team wanted to find a way to create an edible food tag that was non-toxic, didn’t change the food’s flavour or appearance and could be read without having to destroy the food itself. This made the team realise that the insides of edible objects like cookies could be 3D printed to contain patterns of empty spaces, such that when a light was shone from behind the cookie, a readable QR code became visible.
Senior study author Kosuke Sato hopes that the team’s technology will improve food safety and traceability. In addition, he contended that it could also be used for novel food experiences delivered via augmented reality. Osaka University argued that the team’s method would be important in broader efforts of waste reduction. It also hopes that the wider adoption of similar technologies will lead to what it described as “a cleaner, more cookie-filled future.”
Technology similar to the Osaka University team has been developed by PhD student Mustafa Doga Dogan at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In late January 2022, it spoke of his project to develop barcodes embedded in 3D printed objects called InfraredTags, which would show metadata in a similar manner to information embedded in digital files. Dogan and his colleagues created several prototypes to demonstrate their concept, including 3D printed mugs with infrared camera readable barcodes engraved inside them, a prototype WiFi router and a cheap, wheel-shaped video game controller.
3D printing is an amazing tool. It can grow your small business or start a mini revolution in an industry. Explore what it can do for you when you contact us today.
Disclaimer: Featured image of “Giant QR Code (2902210442)” has been dedicated to the public domain by its author (known only as Alan Levine from Mortlach, Canada) under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
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