I think that food printing might just be the killer app
The really encouraging thing is that prices have dropped from tens of thousands to less than a thousand dollars for 3D printing machines, and we can now print with everything from pasta and cheese, to chocolate, sugar paste, cookie dough and chickpeas, he said.
As for the new skills needed to design complex 3D objects, it may be that in future, with advances in artificial intelligence, we can simply tell our computers what we need, and get them to figure out how to do it, he said.
"The jury is still out as to whether 3D printing will live up to the hype when it comes to food. But I think that food printing might just be the killer app for 3D printers that no one could forsee."
Dr Hod Lipson will be discussing the potential of 3D printing for food at our brand new conference Food Vision USA in October. Click HERE for full details.
Picture: The Sugar Lab