SEATTLE – Wandering among the engineers and strategy directors and managers of something called “connected customer experience” at the Smart Kitchen Summit, one had to wonder: Do any of these people actually cook?
The conference, now in its third year, brings together people on the front lines of technology to figure out how to move the digital revolution deeper into the kitchen. The kitchen is where Americans spend 60 percent of their time at home when they are not sleeping, said Yoon Lee, a senior vice president at Samsung. That’s why so many tech companies are focused on it.
Almost everyone here last week at Benaroya Hall, the home of the Seattle Symphony – whether an executive from a major appliance manufacturer, a Google engineer or a hopeful young entrepreneur with a popular Kickstarter concept – agreed that it was only a matter of five to 10 years before artificial intelligence had a permanent seat at the dinner table.
The coming kitchen technology, they said, will go well beyond a screen on the refrigerator door that allows you to check the weather while you search recipes.
Your power blender may be able to link to a device on your wrist that’s been tracking your diet, then check in with your freezer and your kitchen scale. It could set up the right smoothie recipe based on what’s on hand, how much weight you’ve gained and which fruit you prefer.