The Future of Food Is on Instagram
There’s no consensus about what the term “digital food” really means. To some, it’s the sharing of images of food on social media to represent culture, calories, presentation, preparation, and taste.
Through this “digital food,” we can use new technologies to explore and represent who we are. Augmented reality (AR) provides a unique way to experience digital food. AR experiences by artists such as Robbie Conceptuel on Instagram allow you to become the food itself. With his filter, Bubble Tea, available on Instagram, your face is transformed into a trendy drink, and jelly bubbles pour out of your mouth when you open wide.
Designers also create photo-realistic 3D food models specifically for AR. Design company QReal has created several AR experiences, such as Lobster, an Instagram filter where a user can place a photorealistic 3D model of a lobster with macaroni and cheese on a flat surface.
It’s also already possible to order food using augmented reality. AR company Kabaq has partnered with Snapchat to offer users the ability to view a Domino’s pizza in AR, then order that pizza online. Ordering food in AR allows us to see examples of what our food will look like before we see it in real life. When the already popular Uber Eats eventually adopts ARwithin its app, it is likely there will be a surge in orders, if only for the initial novelty alone. By using what is known as persistent AR, you could share the same digital food with another person or share the ordering process with a group of people.
The future of food could also exist in digital restaurants. I used Instagram to create Fresh Hot Delicious, a completely digital restaurant specializing in digital desserts. Each dessert exists as a freely available AR filter on Instagram.
Digital food can be funny, satirical, or political, as seen with Peached by Beth Wickerson.
Food designers and sensory scientists have been using virtual reality (VR) to explore digital food since at least 2016. Project Nourished, a “gastronomical virtual reality experience,” replicates existing foods and produces new kinds of food experiences. They aim to help people “eat whatever they want” with no allergies, no intolerances, and no regrets.
See the full story here: https://onezero.medium.com/the-future-of-food-is-on-instagram-223790dd5c5c