Adding new meaning to the term "fusion cuisine," an international team of adventurous researchers has united robot science and gastronomy to create an elaborate multi-tiered cake with edible components and the world's first edible rechargeable battery. (Well, it's rechargeable until you eat it.)
Researchers from Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have formed an unlikely collaboration team with pastry chefs and food scientists to create the RoboCake, currently on show at Osaka's Expo 2025.
But this is a cake with a bit of a twist. Sitting atop the elaborate piece are edible robotic bears, which are reported to taste like pomegranate gummies, which have an internal pneumatic system that provides movement for their limbs and head. And, yes, these little dancing robots are completely edible.
“They are made from gelatin, syrup and colorants,” said Bokeon Kwak, a researcher at EPFL's Laboratory of Intelligent Systems (LIS).
Not to be outdone, IIT researchers have made the world's first edible rechargeable battery, using a recipe of vitamin B2, quercetin, activated carbon and chocolate.
“These batteries, safe for consumption, can be used to light the LED candles on the cake,” said Valerio Galli, a PhD student at IIT. "The first flavor you get when you eat them is dark chocolate, followed by a surprising tangy kick, due to the edible electrolyte inside, which lasts a few seconds."
And to their credit, these little chocolate wafer-like disks look fairly appetizing. The researchers are conscious of a potential aversion to ingesting electronic components, so have asked the question: What if eating these parts actually delivered a unique taste experience – and a good one at that?
“Our challenge was to find the best way to showcase the innovations of our two partners, EPFL and IIT, by adding what we do best: indulgence," said Julien Boutonnet, a senior lecturer at Swiss hospitality school EHL and recipient of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) award for pastry and candymaking. "This is how the RoboCake was born, a true event pastry cake, meeting the challenge of combining technique, electronics, and taste.”
The cake is part of the four-year, €3.5-million (US$3.95-million) RoboFood Project, bringing together food scientists and robotics experts to make edible items that go beyond novelty.
“Robotics and food are two separate worlds,” said Dario Floreano, head of LIS and RoboFood project coordinator. “However, merging them offers many advantages, particularly in terms of limiting electronic waste and food waste.”
Whether the world is ready for "intelligent food" remains to be seen, but the researchers are exploring all kinds of applications beyond just taste.
Other applications in the fields of emergency nutrition and health are being considered by scientists. And the technology is developing rapidly, as our earlier coverage shows how far it's come even in a short time.
“Edible robots could be used to deliver food to endangered areas, to deliver medicines in innovative ways to people who have difficulty swallowing or to animals, or even to monitor food and its freshness using sensors that can be eaten," Floreano added. “This interdisciplinary collaboration paves the way for interactive and delicious gastronomic experiences reminding us that food is a precious resource and possibly reducing overeating."
Soure: EPFL
