1. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
2. Center for Management of Information Technologies, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
Email: k0152843@kadai.jp (H.K.); k5335512@kadai.jp (K.Y.); odaken@cc.kagoshima-u.ac.jp (K.O.);
fuchida@cc.kagoshima-u.ac.jp (T.F.)
*Corresponding authorbr
Manuscript received September 10, 2024; revised October 22, 2024; accepted December 1, 2024; published January 22, 2025.
Abstract—Contemporary food culture is becoming increasingly personalized and entertainment-oriented. Within this evolution, there is a growing interest in integrating computing with food, placing digital gastronomy at the forefront of this new wave. Existing research in this field has mainly focused on enhancing the sensory experience of food after cooking, such as through visual enhancement with Extended Reality or taste adjustment using electrical stimulation. However, there is also a growing interest in improving the dining experience during cooking using computing. Under this new vision, there is a particular surge in interest in food 3D printing, although current food 3D printers primarily focus on texture, with a narrow color gamut. This study explores the feasibility of a new food 3D printing concept called “Magic Drops,” aiming for personalized dining experiences and entertainment in cooking using ultrasound levitation. After defining the requirements and conducting preliminary experiments based on the proposed method, we created a prototype that aligns with the concept. We then verified whether two liquids could be moved and mixed to a designated position using ultrasound levitation. This process was successful, although we observed phenomena of one liquid dropping during movement. Based on these results, we propose improvements for realizing Magic Drops and discuss its potential applications as well.
Keywords—human food interaction, food 3D printing, ultrasound levitation, spherification, molecular gastronomy
Cite: Hiroki Kawahara, Kaito Yamao, Kentaro Oda, and Takayasu Fuchida, "Levitation Printing: Feasibility Study of a New Food Printing Method with Ultrasound Levitation,"
International Journal of Engineering and Technology, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 1-6, 2025.
Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
