Computational Commensality: From Theories to Computational Models for Social Food Preparation and Consumption in HCI

Abstract

Food and eating are inherently social activities taking place, for example, around the dining table at home, in restaurants, or in public spaces. Enjoying eating with others, often referred to as "commensality," positively affects mealtime in terms of, among other factors, food intake, food choice, and food satisfaction. In this paper we discuss the concept of "Computational Commensality," that is, technology which computationally addresses various social aspects of food and eating. In the past few years, Human-Computer Interaction started to address how interactive technologies can improve mealtimes. However, the main focus has been made so far on improving the individual's experience, rather than considering the inherently social nature of food consumption. In this survey, we first present research from the field of social psychology on the social relevance of Food-and Eating-related Activities (F&EA). Then, we review existing computational models and technologies that can contribute, in the near future, to achieving Computational Commensality. We also discuss the related research challenges and indicate future applications of such new technology that can potentially improve F&EA from the commensality perspective.

Factors affecting flavor perception in space: Does the spacecraft environment influence food intake by astronauts?

“…• Hence, especially when combined with visual cues, not to mention a number of other gastrophysical interventions (Spence, 2017a(Spence, , 2017d, there would seem to be good hope that the experience of food and drink in space can be enhanced, through the more intelligent use, and consideration, of sound. • Finally, here, there may also be an important role for sound in terms of "digital commensality," dining while talking with, or being advised by a dining assistant/companion (Niewiadomski, Ceccaldi, Huisman, Volpe, & Mancini, 2019;Spence, Mancini, & Huisman, 2019).…”

“…There has been a recent increase of awareness in the crossmodal influence of noise, music, and soundscapes on tasting. Although loud background noise has been shown to suppress various aspects of taste/flavor/aroma perception, the strategic use of particular music or soundscapes can, modify both the sensory discriminative and hedonic aspects of multisensory tasting experiences. Although the majority of research has so far been conducted on the ground, the implications for tasting in space would appear worthy of further investigation, especially given early interventions in air travel. Indeed, although sonic seasoning might sound a little too futuristic, it is worth noting that a more design‐led approach to enhance food and beverage experience in space has recently started to gain some traction among researchers (Obrist, Tu, Yao, & Velasco, 2019). What is more, it is worth stressing that there have already been several short‐term marketing‐led sonic seasoning interventions for passengers on British Airways (Skift, 2014; Victor, 2014), and subsequently on Finn Air flights (e.g., https://www.finnair.com/gb/gb/stevenliu/en; see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkPyC11dXT0). Hence, especially when combined with visual cues, not to mention a number of other gastrophysical interventions (Spence, 2017a, 2017d), there would seem to be good hope that the experience of food and drink in space can be enhanced, through the more intelligent use, and consideration, of sound. Finally, here, there may also be an important role for sound in terms of “digital commensality,” dining while talking with, or being advised by a dining assistant/companion (Niewiadomski, Ceccaldi, Huisman, Volpe, & Mancini, 2019; Spence, Mancini, & Huisman, 2019). …”

Eating with an Artificial Commensal Companion

“…Recent works are starting to explore digital and computational forms of commensality [13,17], in which technology aims to replicate/emulate/enable remote forms of commensality. While eating together with others, in particular family members and friends, is something that is difficult to replace and easily missed when situations prevent co-dining (e.g., during social distancing measures and lock-downs), technological solutions could potentially help reduce negative consequences of eating alone.…”

“…Social robots have been applied in a wide variety of settings and have shown to have positive effects on perceived social presence [14]. However, existing work on social robots at the dining table is relatively limited [13]. It is currently not clear how social robots could fit in during social eating settings; in other words: how do we teach social robots table manners?…”

“…There have been a number of attempts at making artificial companions that are present during a meal, with varying degrees of success [13]. However, Artificial Commensal Companions (ACC), that is, companions participating in eating-related activities [11], are not widely studied.…”