North Eastern University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute recently got to test out an intriguing new ice cream new vending machine.

At the ARS Electronica festival in Linz, British artist, Demitrios Kargotis, unveiled Dr. Whippy, an ice cream machine that serves customers based on their stress levels.  The unique machine that has traveled across events for two years, measures how unhappy the user is based on voice stress analysis and then serves up a dollop or heap of ice cream based on its diagnosis.
The machine asks several questions and after assessing the patient, immediately prescribes its dose for effective results.  The project was funded in part by the Royal College of Art and will hopefully continue to circulate as crowds gather [...]

PSFK spotted this micro-batch ice-cream parlor on a recent trip to Beacon in New York state. Beyond using an array of local fresh ingredients, Zora Dora sells only product handmade that day. Produced in small batches, they say they are able to control the quality and freshness of all their frozen desserts. They also support local Hudson Valley farmers trying to use the freshest dairy, fruit and vegetable products when in season.

Zora Dora

The Fleet Ice Cream Orchestra is a collection of six vans which utilize the twelve notes available on the onboard electric toy xylophone, known as a ‘Pixiphone,’ to create new music with a recognizable sound quality.  The group debuted last summer at the Whitestable Biennale and are headed by Chris Yates and Kelvin Pawsey, two art technicians from Folkestone.  The Telegraph reports on the musical style:
The unique tinny sound which heralds the arrival of sticky dairy products and recognised by children across the land is thanks to the Grampian horn bolted to the van’s [...]

Haagen Dazs seems to have taken note of the trend to simplify ingredients and has launched a new ice-cream with only five ingredients. For example the ingredients of Vanilla Bean are skim milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla.
Five