Muffidgets: Detecting and Identifying Edible Pastry Tangibles on Capacitive Touchscreens

Abstract

Detecting tangibles on capacitive touchscreen has seen vast attention over the past decade. Current state of the art allows a capacitive touchscreen to detect and identify a number of tangibles based on a unique footprint of interconnected conductive elements on the base of the tangible. In most cases, this conductive material is either metal or some carbon-based conductor, possibly integrated into a 3D-printing process. The choice of conductive material is, however, not limited to these technical elements. In this paper, we showcase how the concept of tangible detection on capacitive touchscreens can be transferred to pastry, creating an ephemeral, edible user interface. The detection and identification of specific pieces of pastry open applications in the area of entertainment, but also food safety.