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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Virtual Reality

Visualize it: Augmented Reality and the Future of Food

All around us, augmented reality technology is beginning to give us more information about our immediate environment than can be seen with the naked eye. There are (AR) apps for overlaying where nearby WiFi signals are centered, and apps that help surface unseen nearby locations and attractions to visit. Now, food production is set for transformative developments thanks to AR.

On this front, Huxley has developed what it bills as the world’s first “augmented operating system,” which mashes up augmented reality with artificial intelligence. “ By combining vision, environment, and plant data, we can now grow more with less using AI,” Huxley reports.

Imagine a smart greenhouse of the future, where farmers with augmented reality glasses can surface information about what kinds of plants at various stages of growth surround them. The same greenhouse might have smart cameras that keep track of everything from watering status, to activity from pests and threats.

Huxley is being leveraged for these kinds of food production scenarios, and is even being leveraged to optimize marijuana production. It is a hands-free system that combines AR, AI, and machine learning to optimize “plant vision,” as seen in the screenshot here.

“Intelligent Automation for Controlled Environments is the future,” the Huxley team reports. “By collaborating with the most innovative companies and organizations we can provide anyone in any language the power of a master grower. Data just got dimensional.”

According to a recent Wall Street Journal story, augmented reality can also help optimize harvesting plants: “New cameras, sensors and smartphone apps help monitor plant growth. One company is even developing augmented-reality glasses that can show workers which plants to pick.”

The same story notes that companies are also developing new ways to grow vegetables in tiny spaces and often urban spaces, including rooftops, balconies, and abandoned lots. From controlled lighting to augmented reality solutions for discerning when to harvest plants, these solutions were not found on grandpa’s old farm.

Meanwhile, Danish researchers are investigating ways to use augmented reality to optimize the trimming and boning process for pork bellies. “The AR technology has demonstrated lucrative applications in industrial QA procedures and even farm management applications appear to benefit from applying the technology,” the researchers note.

So how might augmented reality boost your food frontiers when you are at the table in a restaurant? A company called Kabaq is on top of that concept. It is developing 3D and augmented reality menu and visualization technologies so that you can see exactly what your order will look like in front of you, from every angle. Check out the technology in action in this video:

Watch how you can use Apple ARKit in Food ordering

The technology driving augmented reality devices and applications is rapidly advancing as well. Apple is one of many tech giants driving the technology forward, and the result is likely to be ever smarter AR-driven food applications. Stay tuned to this space.

The Spoon’s Video Top Three: Designer Biohacking, VR in the Bar, Smart Coasters

Welcome to the Spoon’s first video review of the three of the most interesting stories from the past week about the future of food, cooking and the kitchen.

This week we’ve got stories about the intersection of design and biohacking, how virtual reality could be used to enhance your experience at the local watering hole, and how bars and restaurants are deploying smart coasters to engage with customers and better understand what they’re up to (I think I’ve got the answer: drinking).

P.S. Let us know what you think of this new format!

A Man Walks into A Bar and Puts on VR Goggles

There’s something a tad oxymoronic about imbibing on some 20-year-old scotch in a virtual reality setting. Sipping on a youthful scotch or rare sherry that has been aged in a rare cask is enough to transport you–and that destination is only left to your imagination. For those with a bit less sense of wonder and some extra dough to spend, there exist new virtual reality experiences that add untold dimensions to any cocktail hour.

If you happen to walk into the Baptiste & Bottle bar at the Conrad Chicago, you will enter the playground of Michael Fawthrop, the beverage director at the upscale hotel. Calling the adult beverage emporium a bar seems a bit of an understatement as Fawthrop is known for adding touches that make the drinking part of the experience secondary. As a follow-up to creating a cocktail with balloons, the innovative master barkeep has gone high-tech by adding virtual reality to the menu. The VR experience was created in conjunction with Macallan, the world-renown distillery in Craigellachie, Scotland.

“At the Conrad Chicago, we always look for ways to be innovative and utilize technology in an interesting way that is also on brand and authentic,” Fawthrop said in a recent interview with Forbes. “Working in a luxury hotel bar you get to meet people traveling from all over the world and have experienced a lot. Our challenge is to give them a memorable experience that they will take back home or to wherever they are traveling to next.”

For $95, here’s what you get: The journey starts with a wooden box placed in front of the patron. Inside the box are items such as moss and vegetation that tell The Macallan story. The moss and vegetation relate to oak trees in a forest; oak is what the venerable distillery uses to make its casks. Empty glasses are placed in front of the customer.

As the story unfolds, sherry is poured with an explanation on how the sherry is distilled from start to finish. Macallan Rare Cask (scotch) comes next with a similar spiel. Once the trial tasting is finished, the VR tour begins with goggles and an Oculus Rift setup. Without ruining the surprise, the experience involves an exploration of oak forests before landing at the Macallan distillery.

As the guests take a VR trip, the cocktail is created tableside and is poured into customized glassware for the occasion. When the patron returns from the VR trip, the drinking begins. The details of what happens next will cost you a trip to Chicago and the Conrad Hotel.

If The Windy City is not your cup of tea (or scotch), you can have similar high-tech drinking encounter at London’s One Aldwych hotel in the city’s theater distinct. A two-minute relatively immerse VR video, made with the assistance of Dalmore whiskey, accompanies the bar’s signature Origin cocktail. The $23 drink and a trip to the Scottish Highland are only one of many tech-inspired additions to the London food and beverage scene.

City Social, helmed by Jason Atherton has designed an augmented reality cocktail menu that is inspired by Pokémon Go. After downloading an app, taking a picture of the drink will lead to an experience designed to complement the alcoholic creation.

When CNN first reported on City Social’s AR effort, Seb Lyall, the brains behind the city’s “Breaking Bad” and all-nude-themed establishments, said this on the changes going on in his industry. “The definition of luxury is changing for younger people,” he remarked. “It’s not about the best cocktail or dish, it’s about the experience.”