Robots, AI and the kitchen
Every so often we have a quick look at what’s going on in Australia and the world when it comes to equipment, devices and gadgets related to cooking, cheffing, kitchens and culinary matters in general.
The last one we did was in September 2022, so it’s been a while! Here it is.
Of course the big buzzword now – perhaps the buzzword to end all buzzwords – is ‘AI’, and marketing folk around the world have been busy adding ‘AI’ into any product description they think they can get away with. And that holds good for kitchen equipment and gadgets too (and we speculated what that might look like here).
Coming in just behind ‘AI’ in the buzzword race is anything to do with robots. These may not yet be the humanoid style ones, but robotic systems are increasingly playing a role in commercial kitchens, if not just yet in the home. But these are coming – including the humanoid ones – and in fact we covered one domestic robotic kitchen (main image) way back in 2017 , so we should be close now…
With those two disclaimers out of the way, we have found a few things over the past six months or so that are new and may be making their way into a shop (or onto a computer) near you at some point in 2025. In no particular order…
The AI powered refrigerator
We don’t know if Hisense was officially first off the block with an ‘AI’ fridge. Fridges have been getting a lot ‘smarter’ over the past few years but this one from Hisense, which premiered at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January this year, is clearly pushing the bounds.
Its AI claim is via an app called ConnectLife, and specifically tools in the app called ‘Dish Designer’ and ‘Meal Planner’. These two tools use ‘AI powered suggestions’ to recommend various recipes based on available ingredients as well as dietary requirements and personal preferences. Although the fridge tracks food inventories, we’re not sure if this means it knows what is in the fridge or whether you have to manually record what you have bought into the app.
The fridge and app can also reduce food waste by tracking expiry dates and keeping food at the most appropriate temperature in ‘adaptable storage zones’ which can switch from fridge to freezer settings as required. Whether this is AI at work or not, it’s still a pretty smart piece of kit.
Officially called the SmartHub refrigerator, it is due to release in Australia this year, although no pricing has been announced. Check below for more info.
The oven that knows what’s cooking
Unveiled at the Berlin IFA tradeshow last year, the Siemens iQ 700 oven comes with a built in camera that recognises over 80 different meals and automatically chooses the right settings – mainly temperature and cooking time. The example given was cooking a frozen pizza where you’d just need to put it in and hit the ‘go’ button. This Siemens model is a full size built in oven, not a countertop style small oven. Check below for more info.
No more cables in the kitchen
Another innovation at the same show in Berlin is having kitchen devices which would otherwise need to be plugged in, like kettles, toasters, mixers etc, working without power cables. The power source is embedded in the countertop and works very much like a wireless charger you might put your phone on rather than plugging it in.
At the tradeshow a number of devices were demonstrated being able to work on the countertop without cables, although of course the devices themselves need to have inbuilt wireless charge receivers. The good news is that that countertop itself does not heat up when it’s powering a device and for safety reasons it shuts off if the device is moved more than a few centimetres away from the power source.
Called the Ki Concept, the company expects this technology initially to be of more interest to kitchen designers and contractors than the general public.
And here are two little gadgets that caught our eye at a slightly lower price tag (and no robots or AI involved)…
Garlic Press Rocker
A new take on the garlic press, you simply roll the rocker over a clove of garlic, or maybe a piece of ginger and hey presto, crushed garlic / ginger.
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09GSCMG27/
Burger Holder
We may be going into ‘useless gadget’ territory here but this one piqued our interest. It solves the problem of hamburgers (normally the overstuffed homemade ones – the best ones) losing all of their ingredients when you bite into them. The burger holder stops this from happening and prevents all sorts of hamburger ingredient escape issues – such as hands covered in ketchup or worse, clothes. If you like big burgers, don’t leave home without one.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Retractable-Reusable-Hamburger-Adjustable-Container/dp/B0B3HYRTB6/
Did we miss anything?
More Info
https://au.pcmag.com/robot-vacuums/107144/climbing-vacuums-ai-ovens-and-a-wire-free-kitchen-the-best-smart-home-tech-of-ifa-2024
https://www.moley.com/
Main Image Credit: Moley Robotics A-AiR Kitchen
…and our latest tech below!