Eat-IT: Towards Understanding Interactive Technology and Food (Dagstuhl Seminar 22272)

Abstract

Eating is a basic human need while technology is transforming the way we cook and eat food. For example, see the internet-connected Thermomix cooking appliance, desserts using virtual reality headsets, projection mapping on dinner plates and 3D-printed food in Michelin-star restaurants. Especially within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), there is a growing interest in understanding the design of technology to support the eating experience. There is a realization that technology can both be instrumentally beneficial (e.g. improving health through better food choices) as well as experientially beneficial (e.g. enriching eating experiences). Computational technology can make a significant contribution here, as it allows to, for example, present digital data through food (drawing from visualization techniques and fabrication advances such as 3D-food printing); facilitate technology-augmented behaviour change to promote healthier eating choices; employ big data across suppliers to help choose more sustainable produce (drawing on IoT kitchen appliances); use machine learning to predictively model eating behaviour; employ mixed-reality to facilitate novel eating experiences; and turn eating into a spectacle through robots that support cooking and serving actions. The aim of this Dagstuhl seminar called “Eat-IT” was to discuss these opportunities and challenges by bringing experts and stakeholders with different backgrounds from academia and industry together to formulate actionable strategies on how interactive food can benefit from computational technology yet not distract from the eating experience itself. With this seminar, we wanted to enable a healthy and inclusive debate on the interwoven future of food and computational technology