3D printed innovation to redefine food packaging

A collaborative team of engineers from University of California, Berkeley and Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University want to ensure that you never cry over spilt milk again. The team’s developed a “smart cap” for milk cartons that uses wireless, embedded sensors to detect signs of spoilage.

This smart cap combines the innovation of the first 3D printed, working electrical components with a functional, wireless sensor.

“This 3D-printing technology could eventually make electronic circuits cheap enough to be added to packaging to provide food safety alerts for consumers," says Liwei Lin, a professor of mechanical engineering and co-director of the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center to Nanotechnology Now.

The goal of the smart cap and related 3D printing research aims to one day allow individuals to simply hit “print” and have customizable, useful devices in every home.

Lin goes on to say, "You could imagine a scenario where you can use your cellphone to check the freshness of food while it's still on the store shelves.”