Chewing has been scientifically proven to be an essential source of human vitality.　Phantom Snack is an innovative virtual food that lets users experience the pleasure of snacking without actual food intake, offering a solution for those unable to chew due to age or illness. Designed for easy access through a webcam-equipped PC and bone conduction earphones, it provides the enjoyment of chewing without calorie intake, even burning calories instead. This opens up the prospect of a new, health-conscious virtual snacks market by providing a guilt-free indulgence that combines technology with the essential human activity of chewing.

Chewing provides many benefits, such as activating the brain and relieving stress, yet the frequency of human chewing has been in decline. And in Japan alone, more than a million people suffer from swallowing disorders, forced to get their nutrition through liquid diets or gastrostomy. Moreover, over 55 million people globally are afflicted with dementia and often struggle with chewing due to physical weakness, while studies indicate that chewing can improve their condition. And many countries are currently facing issues with excessive calorie intake, with about 30% of the adult population in Japan being considered obese.

Phantom Snack holds the potential to be a fun solution to all these issues by providing the enjoyment and health benefits of eating crunchy snacks and satisfying food cravings, without the need to chew actual food or increase caloric intake. In fact, the chewing motion it encourages may actually burn calories.

Previously, chewing detecting technology only measured the number of chews and required the use of cumbersome, specialized devices, making them very inconvenient for use in chewing rehabilitation.

In contrast, Phantom Snack is impressively easy to use. The only thing that needs to be worn is a small and easy-to-handle commercially available pair of bone conduction earphones.

And the use of a webcam and image recognition software makes Phantom Snack very innovative as a rehabilitation device.

In the case of those with swallowing disorders, for whom putting something in the mouth can create aspiration and choking risks, Phantom Snack is innovative in that it requires no eating at all.

Imagine eating snack foods while watching a movie after dinner. How many people eat with the purpose of consuming calories? Snacking can be considered as eating to enjoy the crunchy, crispy textures and savory flavors. It would be great if there was a way to enjoy these aspects without consuming calories. Chewing without putting anything in your mouth could actually burn exercise energy, contributing to fitness.

Phantom Snack is a device that realizes this.

This invention can also be beneficial for medical welfare, offering the same enjoyment of chewing to people who cannot fully enjoy chewing due to physical conditions. Moreover, we have discovered that chewing itself could lead to the prevention of dementia. Thus, the device proves to be widely applicable, providing benefits both to healthy individuals and to those with disabilities.

February 2023: Patent obtained

March 2023: Exhibited at SXSW, experienced by over 1,000 people

August 2023: Presented at CEDEC (Japan's largest conference for game developers)

October 2023: Experienced by individuals with dysphagia at the Stroke Festival

Phantom Snack uses cross-modal technology to recreate the sensation of food textures without putting anything in your mouth. Image recognition and AI track jaw movements to detect the timing of the user's chewing, and the vibration and sound of chewing are fed back to the user via a bone conduction headset. It also adds a smell and taste component to realistically reproduce the flavor of snacks, making use of specially blended aromas and focusing specifically on the retronasal aromas experienced when something is in the mouth. It also provides visual effects that simulate the enjoyment of snacks growing smaller and breaking apart as they are chewed. This comprehensive configuration enhances the realism and satisfaction of the pseudo-experience of eating.

Currently, Phantom Snack offers four flavors: chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, Caesar salad, and a custom-designed gummy that couldn't exist in reality. The menu can be expanded indefinitely by varying sound, visual, and aromatic components.

Phantom Snack is not just about enjoying air as a snack. It can also add texture to liquid food, change the texture of food, or introduce a texture that does not exist in this world, thus expanding the food experience. Gaming users could become monsters eating buildings, or use their jaw movements to play music. It also allows people with swallowing disorders and healthy individuals to enjoy the same chewing experience, making it an inclusive form of entertainment.

The global snack food market is approximately $584.5 billion. We will replace a portion of it with a new market of virtual snacks.

Over 1,500 people have already experienced the joy of Phantom Snack at events where we've exhibited. We have already received partnership inquiries from six companies, five university laboratories, and one NPO, and we are moving forward with the expansion of this project.