Manipulate Your Appetite With Augmented Reality (+VIDEO)
Obesity has become a burning issue not only in the U.S., but also in some European countries. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have recently found a way to manipulate appetite with augmented reality. The AR system can make your brain think youâre eating more than you really are. The thing is, that the satiety feeling is partially determined by how much food you see yourself eating. There was an experiment held and after making the food appear larger than it actually is, the researchers made people be full sooner. The subjects were consuming 10% less food, when it was made to appear 1.5 times larger. A camera is mounted a onto a personâs head and points down onto the food being held in the hand; the cameraâs signal is processed by an algorithm that identifies a food item and makes it appear larger while making a personâs hand look the same size. A pair of glasses, which displayed the augmented food item, gives people the feeling of eating something larger, than they actually are. Interesting is that, when food is made to look smaller, subjects consumed up to 15% more food. This smart system could potentially detect unhealthy foods and automatically increase their size, or vice verse make healthy foods look smaller to increase their consumption. Designers hope to develop this prototype into a technology that encourages healthy eating habits, without keeping to strict diets.
Via:psfk.com
