Interactive dining table gamifies a meal for two

Two Royal College of Art students have found a new way to make food fun: the pair have designed a table that turns an ordinary meal into a two-player video game, as shown in the game's introductory video.

Sures Kumar and Lana Z. Porter's creation is called Pixelate, which they describe as a "Guitar-Hero-style eating game" in which players have one minute to eat as many items of food as possible in a correct, pre-determined order. The hardware is a customized dining table with screens built into the surface in front of each player. The screens will display certain foods and tell players what to eat and when. The game determines whether players have made the correct choice by measuring food's resistance on their fork.

According to the description accompanying the video, Pixelate could be a potential solution in encouraging children to make healthier food choices, manage food portions and teaching nutrition. The game is meant to challenge players to "consider whether they think before they eat, or eat before they think."

Pixelate has previously been displayed at the Henry Moore Gallery at the Royal College of Art in London. Check out the video below to see the eating game in action.