A Taiwanese professor is using 3-D printing to create the perfect soft serve ice cream.

Chen Li-yuan is an assistant professor of industrial engineering and management at Chien Hsin University of Science and Technology. He also was disappointed by the soft serve offerings in convenience stores, especially when some clerks skimped on the serving size.

“In recent years, the quality of soft serve ice cream at convenience stores has been poor due to unskilled staff and their time-consuming work,” Chen explained. “Serving soft serve ice cream actually takes quite a bit of skill.”

Built on the architecture of a delta-style desktop 3D printer, Chen’s machine is capable of making various shapes of soft serve and dishing out precise servings in three different sizes. It is also capable of stacking up ice cream to an impressive height that won’t topple, unlike when humans try to create a giant cone.

He hopes that soon he will be able to bring his innovation to market to improve the soft-serve experience for consumers everywhere.

The soft-serve printer is expected to cost around $5000.

Photo Credit: 3DPrinter (Chen’s machine)