Projects

The plan is to further develop the “Food-Fill” system – a dispensing system for liquid or viscose foodstuffs requiring refrigeration. During the preparatory phase for this project, we already created a rudimentary working model with a capacity of one litre, which we are now upscaling to five litres. Three prototypes (one virtual and two physical) Food-Fills are also being developed. We plan to conduct consumer tests on the physical prototypes in grocery stores, where demand is particularly high for a means of dispensing refrigerated foodstuffs from bulk containers. To date, apart from individual packaging, generally only “bucket solutions” have existed for refrigerated foodstuffs in paste form, Which present hygienic and handling challenges for customers and staff alike. 
Focusing on viscose products, the Food-Fill system should provide solutions that enable customers to dispense their own refrigerated dairy products with the necessary quality and safety assurance. The specific options that we are working on right now are for cream cheese and yoghurt, as these are two of the most difficult substances to self-dispense. The idea is that the knowledge gained in the process of this invention can then be applied to other – potentially more easily dispensed – foodstuffs and other products (e.g. cosmetics). Partners in retail and industry are already involved during the project phase to ensure a outcome that is fit for purpose.
Professors, scientific staff and students in the faculties of mechanical engineering, computer science and business administration are working on this project.

Developing a dependable high-speed process for a new way of processing meat, rolling previously separate methods into one.

The aim of this project is to develop a dependable mechanical system that rolls several previously separate meat and food-processing procedures into one innovative high-speed process. Depending on the desired end product, meat is currently processed prior to sale using methods such as tumbling, mixing, kneading and injecting, some of which can take several hours and only be performed in turn.
To shorten the process, the project team is planning to develop a completely new kind of mechanical concept to dramatically cut the processing time by a factor of 50. The research involves analysing the meat’s structure and properties in comparison with the original product and conventional processing.
This calls for utterly innovative means of not only moving and processing food, but also keeping unbalancing and vibrations under control. The team believes it can realise its design to commercially launch a highly innovative, completely new kind of mechanical technique, anticipating major growth opportunities on a market that has, until now, remained rather conservative.