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Consumer Electronics Daily News Friday, January 11, 2019 4 4 Manufacturers Rush to Create the Smarter Kitchen By Lorrie Baumann Manufacturers are eager to put their smart home devices in home kitchens, and consumers who are eager for help with their cooking are embracing some of the new technology, according to Digital Lifestyle Expert Carley Knobloch, who made her case in the Innovation Theater during the International Home + Housewares Show. "It's reached a point at which there's a lot of interest from manufactur- ers. Brands and big companies are vying for countertop space and control – which brand is going to be the remote control for the kitchen," she said. The airwaves are crowded with com- mercials advertising new smart home devices ranging from smart speakers to home security technology and thermo- stats that save energy, but the devices have been slow to penetrate home kitchens. Manufacturers, though, have woken up to the possibilities of inserting their technology into the operational cen- ter of the home. "It's not just a place where the family congregates, it's also the place where generations interact and memories are formed," Knobloch said. "The kitchen is also a hub to a lot of struggles exacerbated by our lack of time to feed ourselves." Consumers are most excited about technology that either makes them bet- ter cooks or that will take over the cook- ing for them to produce restaurant-qual- ity results without requiring culinary training for the home cook, according to Knobloch. "A lot of companies have chefs working side by side with engi- neers to design these products," she said. "Ovens and induction burners are being engineered to recognize the food and then cook it to the user's prefer- ences." One example of this is Miele's Dialog oven, which exists now in con- cept form. It won't be appearing in home kitchens any time soon, according to Knobloch, but the oven uses electro- magnetic waves, similar to what a microwave oven uses, paired with sen- sors that monitor how the food is cook- ing and shift the wave frequencies to adjust as the cooking progresses. Miele says that the Dialog oven cooks foods uniformly rather than from the outside in, so that meats end up moist and uni- formly cooked and breads have enhanced texture. The oven even lets the cook control browning and crust devel- opment of breads. "The result is that you have restaurant-quality food without having to do anything but press a button or two," Knobloch said. The Joule sous vide tool from ChefSteps is another example of a smart device that will allow the home cook to achieve better quality. The tool circulates the water in the water bath to gently bring the food up to temperature and hold it there. It pairs with an app that allows the home cook to select a degree of doneness and then press go to control the device. The device even features voice control. Voice assistants have the ability to really help in the kitchen because the home cook often has his hands full there. They can add things to a grocery list or set a timer or pull up a recipe. Yes, Chef! is a voice-controlled app that will walk the cook through a recipe using voice in a conversational way. Now available only for iOS devices, the app currently offers more than 350,000 recipes, and Knobloch predicts that it will be acquired in the near future by a powerhouse like Amazon or Google, since their virtual assistants don't yet have that skill level. While the Joule and Dialog products are designed to make cooking easier, manufacturers are also developing prod- ucts that solve the problem of kitchen inventory, even decreasing food waste by helping home cooks figure out what they can cook for dinner from the ingredients they have on hand before it goes bad. "This could be for the kitchen what the Nest thermostat was for the rest of the home," Knobloch said. "It takes a process that's rather opaque and makes it transparent so that people can use it." Yummly unveiled an app this year at CES that will enable users to scan the food in their refrigerators and recommend recipes based on the food that's available. It can even take into account the user's preferences and dietary needs. Paired with a Whirlpool range, it'll even be able to control the oven. Whirlpool expects to release the free app this year. Pantry Chic manages inventory by dispensing foods by weight and keeping track of what's left in the bin. "You can see how the cycle will complete itself when a device like this will say, 'Do you want me to order another bag of flour for you because you're running low?'" Knobloch said. These inventory control devices will give both consumers — and the device's manufacturers — a real handle on what's in their house and how to use it. "It isn't just a benevolent act — they want to be the ones replenishing these goods as they're needed," Knobloch said. "Whoever owns the screen in your kitchen or the appliances listening for commands are going to be the witnesses to your food needs and the likeliest to ful- fill the orders. Consumers are typically showing that they're relatively comfort- able exchanging privacy for this kind of convenience, but manufacturers will need to make sure that they're having a continuing conversation with consumers about trust and making sure that they're taking seriously their responsibility for their customers' privacy." "They're going to figure out how to monetize that one way or another. As long as they're providing value, con- sumers are continuing to buy in," she added. "Who's properly pondering the concerns of the consumer is going to decide who's going to succeed ... Ultimately, computers don't cook; people cook. Even if the computer is doing a lot of the work, it's the person who's having the experience of the food." LoveHandle Wins Phone Grip Challenge We've all seen the huge variety of smart- phone grips, knobs and rings parading on the backs of smartphones and cases these days, but which one is the best all-around consumer choice? A recent survey asked users to try each one and rank their favorite based on overall functionality. Here are the results: 1. LoveHandle – The clear winner for function and comfort, LoveHandle passed the pocket-friendly test as the lowest-profile grip in the group. The thin profile also allowed it to operate with wireless charging, unlike some of its thicker and all metal competition. Reviewers liked its use of a softer elastic grip surface instead of hard plastic or metal, but promptly commented on how comfortable it is to securely hold the phone with just a fingertip. 2. Metal Rings – Coming in second place in the survey were the variety of swiveling metal rings that boast grip and stand functionality. While these rigid ver- sions did offer a reliable grip when worn as a ring on the user's finger, they did not score well in the comfort category. Some reviewers commented that the ring was somewhat uncomfortable and was not really a one-size-fits-all product. 3. Expanding Circles – These round expandable knobs are a current pop culture fad among young teens and middle-school lunchrooms. However, reviewers said they lack the basic utility of offering a reliable and comfortable grip for the phone. Large and bulky, many survey respondents complained that the knob would get hung on their pocket or purse when putting their phone away. On the comfort rankings, the popping circles scored low as well due to the way it is held precariously between your fingers and constantly requires an active grip to prevent phone drops. Young reviewers still gave high marks for the addictive fidget-like qual- ities of popping and collapsing these expanding grips just for fun, though. It doesn't seem like the smartphone is going anywhere in the near future, so all of these grip accessories will have a piece of a growing market. However, its quite likely that fads will give way to function as mature consumers have the opportunity to try each of the current available solutions and decide which one works best for their needs. For more information, visit www.love handle.com or email sales@lovehandle.com. Mitsubishi Electric Introduces Robust Driver Monitoring System Mitsubishi Electric, a leading manufac- turer of in-vehicle entertainment, naviga- tion systems and advanced driver-assis- tance systems (ADAS) technologies, announced that it has developed the first in-vehicle monitoring system with a sin- gle wide-angle camera to detect both the driver and front passenger simultaneous- ly. Conventional in-vehicle monitoring systems generally use a single camera to analyze the driver's face for drowsiness or distraction. More recent imaging sys- tems monitor the driver as well as the front passenger, but require several cam- eras. Mitsubishi Electric has refined this concept by developing a technology that uses just one wide-angle camera to iden- tify both the face and hand gestures of driver and front passenger. This allows OEMs to offer a range of safety and per- sonalization features at a lower cost. "Monitoring both front-seat occu- pants not only lets us check driver-centric safety behavior, but also allows us to sup- port additional gesture inputs for in-cab systems such as climate control or audio," says Mark Vogel, Senior Product Development Manager at Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America. "Providing a mix of safety and convenience features within the same monitoring system is critical as the line between those disci- plines continue to blur." With features in development to monitor upper body position and detect slumping or collapsing, this technology may soon be able to identify medical emergencies, such as a heart attack or stroke. In such circumstances, the vehicle could take immediate action by dialing emergency services or even rerouting to a nearby hospital. Active safety monitoring systems like this will become especially important as we evolve toward the self- driving car. About Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, is a global supplier of in-vehicle infotain- ment, telematics and safety systems. Founded in 1979, the company's inno- vative technology enables automakers to exceed consumer expectations through high-quality vehicle designs at the speed of mobility. Industry leaders such as BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, GM, Honda, Nissan and Volvo depend on Mitsubishi Electric for everything from engine-control units through navi- gation systems to autonomous-ready technologies. About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation With over 90 years of experience in pro- viding reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a rec- ognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communica- tions, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment.