BeeHex Inc — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: A17-078

Description

Army Soldiers currently consume pre-packaged Meals Ready to Eat (MRE), which are inadequate in providing sufficient nutrition for the level of physical activity they routinely perform. These MREs have limited choices; shorter shelf life and they’re not tailored to individual’s needs. BeeHex proposes to use a 3D food printer system capable of dispensing variety of macro- and micro-nutrients (in paste, powder and granular forms) to provide food tailored towards individual’s preferences and physiological needs. BeeHex’s 3D food system will have a simple software interface, computational algorithm to interpret nutritional value based on physical activity and a complete hardware system with 1) 3D Food Printer for paste deposition 2) CNC robot for powder/granular micronutrient deposition, and 3) IR heating system for quick baking. BeeHex has tested and evaluated variety of technologies to print food of various textures. The system is designed to be USDA compliant with integrated self-cleaning mechanism. We have tested system in a relevant environment for more than 100 hours and our experience will provide a very strong foundation for Army’s 3D food printer system.