The Future of the Smart Kitchen is Incredible: Robots, Apps, and AI
“The world didn’t need a Wi-Fi-enabled rolling pin, and we definitely don’t need AI in a rolling pin.” With this joke, culinary technologist Scott Heimendinger perfectly captured the theme of the Smart Kitchen Summit (SKS) held in Seattle this week.
Smart kitchen innovations must solve real problems in the kitchen, not just follow the latest tech trends. For example, ‘Joule sous vide’ is one of the earliest smart kitchen gadgets. It was almost impossible to use because it relied entirely on an app and Wi-Fi. These features were not common in kitchens in 2015.
Chris Young, former CEO of ChefSteps which developed Joule, explained to the SKS audience that not including a screen on the device cost them half their potential customers. Joule was later saved by Breville in 2019, which still hasn’t added a screen.
Young’s latest gadget is the ‘Combustion Predictive Thermometer’ Plus Display. It’s a very smart meat thermometer with a big screen option and doesn’t need Wi-Fi at all.
This change is a sign of what we saw at the conference: a shift by entrepreneurs and companies in the smart kitchen industry towards making products based on how people really cook. Many of the solutions we saw are designed to make cooking easier, healthier, and more personalized. Generative AI will play a big role in this!
Of course, there are still plenty of gadgets like robot chefs and wirelessly-powered appliances. But there’s also a move towards improving the software that powers the smart kitchen. Instead of relying on separate apps made by appliance manufacturers, platforms like Fresco are working on a universal kitchen OS. This would connect our appliances with each other and with the recipes we want to cook.
Our ideal smart kitchen would know what we have in my pantry and fridge, create a meal plan based on those ingredients, shop for any extra items we need, and have my appliances ready to go when I start cooking.
While this dream is still in the future, what we saw this week shows that the future of the smart kitchen is becoming clearer. I’ll be sharing more about the interesting things from the Smart Kitchen Summit in the next few days, so check back often.
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