The Cornucopia: MIT's 3D food printer patiently awaits 'the future'

The traditional fast food business model just never had a chance, now did it? Marcelo Coelho and Amit Zoran, a pair of whiz kids doing their thang over at MIT, have developed what very well may be the next major revolution in food preparation. It may also be the only machine that keeps you alive when the Robot Apocalypse goes down, but we'll try to stuff that to the rear of our minds for now. Essentially, the Cornucopia concept is a 3D printer that precisely mixes foods and flavors from a number of canisters in order to produce something that's edible (and supposedly close to what you ordered). Able to deliver "elaborate combinations of food," the machine also has a rapid heating and cooling chamber that purportedly allows for "the creation of flavors and textures that would be completely unimaginable through other cooking techniques." Color us skeptical, but we're guessing these government-issued MREs probably taste just as good -- guess we'll find out for sure if the project ever gets its date with reality.