Food
Last February, the world welcomed its first self-chilling beverage. Of course, a self-chilling beverage was only of so much interest during a time when much of the world's population could just step outside its door and chill its own beverages in the open air – June might have been a better time for that one. What folks could use during the cold season is a beverage container that automatically warms its contents. That container is called the Hot Can. Read More
HAPIfork: The smart fork that monitors your eating habits
One of the quirkier innovations Gizmag has clapped eyes on at this year's CES, the HAPIfork is an electronic eating utensil that monitors the extent and rate of your eating. The HAPIfork was originally developed for clinical use to encourage slower eating, with the aim of combating weight gain from hurried eating that some research suggests doesn't give the body the time it needs to feel full from more moderate food intake. Additionally, HAPILABS claims that its HAPIfork will reduce digestive problems and gastric reflux associated with rapid ingestion. Read More
Gatefeeder ensures that non-alpha cats still get to eat
The trouble with having more than one cat is that sometimes one will decide that all the food belongs to it, and the other goes hungry. The Gatefeeder cat-feeding system addresses this situation via RFID tags, to ensure that only the cat wearing a tag can gain access to its food bowl. Read More
Northmate Green keeps your dog from gulping down its food
When humans rush a meal, indigestion can ensue. In dogs however, it can lead to bloat – a potentially fatal condition. Northmate’s Green helps avoid this by slowing down your dog’s eating, making mealtimes into a challenging game in the process. Read More
Burrito Bomber UAV delivers edible payload
Delivering fresh food to someone's door is far from unusual, but delivering it by flying drone is another story entirely. A team of designers at Darwin Aerospace recently built the "Burrito Bomber," a UAV outfitted with a release mechanism and autopilot controls, so it can take food orders and air drop them at a person's location within minutes. Read More
If you’re the parent of a child with food allergies, you know how terrifying they can be. Such allergies can be life threatening and, despite food labeling laws, it isn't always possible to be certain some potentially deadly ingredient isn't lurking in an item. In an effort to improve on the bulky and complex allergen detectors currently available, researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a device called the iTube that turns a smartphone into an allergen sensor. Read More
"BITE ME" LED desk lamp makes a colorful end-of-life snack
When it comes to a light meal, Victor Vetterlein's "BITE ME" desk lamp has got you covered. The body of the brightly colored creation is made from bio-plastic that can be safely consumed at the end of its useful life. If eating lamps doesn't start your digestive juices flowing, the frame can also be thrown in the compost. Either way, the rather attractive electronics strip can be peeled away from the body and re-used elsewhere. Read More
Onions and garlic could be used to capture heavy metals
They may taste great on a pizza, but could onions and garlic be used to help clean up hazardous heavy metals? Research conducted at GGS Indraprastha University in Delhi, India, suggests this is indeed the case. Read More
This year has already seen a surprising number of innovations in vending machines, from the EatWave that cooks select items to the Let's Pizza which actually makes fresh pizza from scratch. Now one company has produced a vending machine designed for more discerning (and wealthy) palates. Gourmet food supplier, Beverly Hills Caviar, recently installed vending machines in select Los Angeles malls that serve up fresh caviar, escargot, and other exotic goods, with prices for products running as high as US$500. Read More
One of life’s less pleasant surprises is discovering the chocolate bar that you forgot you had in your pocket on a hot day. Two scientists working at Cadbury’s research and development plant in Bourneville, U.K., are fighting that gooey surprise with the invention of chocolate that remains solid even when exposed to temperatures of 40º C (104º F) for more than three hours. Read More
