The Intelligent Kitchen

Smart Homeowner, January/February 2006

Ever since the Jetsons produced a three-course meal with the push of a button, homeowners have been waiting for their own kitchens to enter the space age. It finally feels like they're about to. Aided by the confluence of greater broadband Internet access, more advanced microchip processors and widespread wireless networking, manufacturers are rolling out gadgety new appliances that keep the kitchen firmly ensconced as the heart of even the fastest-paced homes. Think of a refrigerator that keeps tabs on when you run out of milk; a microwave that broadcasts the evening news; and an oven that knows how to cook your food better than you do.

They're not yet popping out ex nihilo gourmet meals. But such high-tech domestic innovations are the future of the average American kitchen, insists Robert Spangler, senior manager of technology for the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA.org). "With the whole country getting wired over a very short period of time, it's kind of like the television revolution: We'll hit that tipping point where all of a sudden [intelligent kitchens] are the standard," he says. Five smart moves that could be coming to a kitchen near you:

1. Multitasking Appliances
Juggling multiple tasks is the modus operandi of most homeowners, so it makes sense that your appliances follow suit. As a multitasker, the Polara range, Whirlpool's refrigerator-cum-oven, is the all-star of the intelligent kitchen. Equipped with compressors that will cool food to 40 degrees, the Polara will then cook a dish at a preprogrammed time with standard convection heat. It's even smart enough to understand the vicissitudes of a busy schedule. "You can program it so dinner's hot when you get home at 6," says Joanne Belanger, global manager of corporate innovation and technology for Whirlpool. "But if you're not home then, it'll keep the food warm for an hour. And very often you get stuck in traffic or your meetings go a little long, so if you're still not home, it'll go back to refrigeration mode."

Samsung's new Quatro Freedom four-door refrigerator offers similar versatility. Each of its four compartments is controlled by independent evaporators and thermostats that allow you to optimize in-fridge temperatures, so you can keep the milk well chilled without freezing the fresh vegetables. More striking, individual sections can convert back and forth from refrigerator to freezer. So whether a dinner party calls for more fridge space or a spree at a discount warehouse leaves you with too many frozen pizzas, you can adjust your temperature settings to create whatever kind of cooling you need.

2. Remote-Controlled Kitchen
In 2002, technology firm Battelle predicted that the ability to operate home appliances remotely with universal controls would be one of the top innovations of the next 10 years. They were right on the money. A number of new-to-market appliances are Internet-enabled, so they can be controlled and monitored from outside the home. The recently released TMIO Connect Io, for instance, is a wall-mounted oven that, like the Polara, can refrigerate food until a preset cooking time. But with a wireless or CAT5 connection (the standard cable for most PCs), homeowners can control the Connect Io from anywhere with a standard web browser, a cell phone, even a telephone land line. Stuck in traffic or running late? Simply dial up the oven and reprogram its cooking time.

Manufacturer LG plans to offer a suite of Internet-enabled appliances: a refrigerator, microwave, washing machine and air conditioner that connect via power line communication. Like the Connect Io, the appliances can be controlled with a web browser or cell phone, so homeowners can start a washing machine cycle or download a recipe to the refrigerator's Web tablet while they're at work. And because the LG Internet Refrigerator contains a server that controls communication to the other three appliances, all four elements of the suite can be managed with one remote interface.

GE's concept-level Kitchen of the Future revolves around remote access and interconnectivity with its refrigerator, as well. Also envisioned is an internal sensor that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to monitor food inventory and maintain a continually updated electronic list of the refrigerator's contents. "If RFID tags start to move into the consumer marketplace on a can of soup or on a jug of milk, what we'll see in five or 10 years is the ability to do inventory control," says Tim Woods, vice president of Internet Home Alliance (InternetHomeAlliance.com), a consortium of companies that work toward creating technologies for connected homes. Homeowners will be able to use a standard phone to get a heads-up on what's in the fridge, get suggestions for recipes you can cook with the food on hand, and download a grocery list for items you need.

3. On-Demand Entertainment
As the hub of the household, kitchens aren't strictly cooking and eating zones anymore. "Consumers want entertainment in the kitchen," says Belanger, of Whirlpool. "More consumers want to watch the news in the kitchen, or they want to watch a cooking show and follow the recipe at the same time." Accordingly, appliances that double as entertainment devices are hot. At the 2005 National Kitchen and Bath Show, Whirlpool debuted an over-the-range microwave whose front panel acts as a television. "We know that the prime real estate in the kitchen is the countertop," says Belanger. "This doesn't use countertop space." The product hasn't hit the market yet, but engineers are already working on the next rendition: outfitting the microwave with a camera so that, at the touch of the panel, the nightly news gives way to a picture of the chicken defrosting inside.

The Beyond Icebox flipscreen, a space-saving under-cabinet entertainment unit, combines the functions of a television, DVD player, CD player and FM radio with Internet access and security monitoring (with an extra video camera, you can keep an eye on the kids in the next room). A slim, washable keyboard, a remote and a touch-screen LCD monitor with stylus allow users to navigate options. Afterward, the video screen tucks away unobtrusively.

Appliances equipped with Web tablets are already on the market and growing in popularity. The LG Internet refrigerator, for instance, comes equipped with a removable 15-inch TFT-LCD television screen in its doors, capable of showing clear-picture television or DVD movies. Meanwhile, the same screen will display your digital snapshot library, play MP3s, provide Internet access with a virtual keyboard, manage the family calendar and record voice or video memos for other family members.

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