See related story: Machine Makes Dishes on Demand
When diners are finished eating, they can place their dishes back into the DishMaker, which heats the acrylic dish up to 300 degrees. The heat causes the acrylic to soften and then a press restores the acrylic dish to its former flat, wafer shape.
Courtesy of The Counter Intelligence Group, MIT Media Lab
A view of the top of the DishMaker and, at right, three acrylic dishes produced by the machine. At the push of a button, the device can make one cup, bowl or plate every 90 seconds and holds enough acrylic material to create 150 items.
Courtesy of The Counter Intelligence Group, MIT Media Lab
The living food cabinet uses light and carbon dioxide redirected from the stove to grow vegetables in the kitchen. Users can place a sprig of basil or other herb or vegetable into the cabinet and the cabinet will help the plant grow as if it were still in the ground.
Courtesy of The Counter Intelligence Group, MIT Media Lab
The X-ray refrigerator combined with the intelligent counter feature tells cooks in pictures and in words if the ingredients they're seeking are in the fridge.
Courtesy of The Counter Intelligence Group, MIT Media Lab
To reduce the need for opening the refrigerator and wasting energy, MIT's Counter Intelligence Group designed a simple fridge cam that projects the icebox's contents onto the door. Future designs would transmit the image to a cell phone or other handheld device so grocery shoppers could see what they already have in their fridge.
Courtesy of The Counter Intelligence Group, MIT Media Lab
Red acrylic dishes created by the DishMaker include, from left to right, a cup, a bowl and a dinner plate. The cup design still needs work: Designers have to figure out a way to fabricate a cup without forming a large lip of excess acrylic as shown here.
Courtesy of The Counter Intelligence Group, MIT Media Lab
