Remember life in Orbit City? George Jetson would come home after a long day at Spacely Sprockets, put down his car-in-a-suitcase, and in mere seconds, with just the depression of a few magic buttons, Jane would have dinner ready.
And while we may not be dancing the Saturn Snug or sending our kids away to college at MIT (Moon Institute of Technology) soon our twenty-first century might not look so different from that of the Jetsons’ – at least in the kitchen.
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The future of household appliances is in achieving faster results and bringing connectivity into the kitchen and, in turn, to the entire home.
Dallas-based TurboChef has developed the TurboChef Internet Oven – an oven that is capable of cooking chicken breasts in four minutes, a 12″ pizza in three and French fries in two.
The oven uses an on-board computer to control the flow of hot air (up to 60 miles per hour) and electromagnetic energy in an “air shroud” within the oven. A catalytic converter cleans the impurities out of the air without the need for venting.
“The original concept was to develop new rapid cook technology – especially for restaurants – but not with microwave results, which are unacceptable,” said Bob Milgroom, TurboChef’s director of investor relations.
The resulting product, however, is about more than just cooking. A wireless Web pad interfaces with the computer inside the oven, to host an “always on” Internet connection. The Web pad can control the kitchen’s other appliances as well as a home’s security, lighting and heating systems.
“This oven gives the consumer the ability to access the Internet, download recipes, video stream,” Milgroom said. “The world of pervasive computing is taking over all aspects of your life from your palm pilot to accessing your e-mail from your watch. Our Web pad could literally be the digital control center for the home.”
ACTION CENTRAL, otherwise known as your refrigerator.
James Fanning, director of integrated home solutions at Whirlpool, echoes Milgroom in that in attempting to create household connectivity, the obvious place to start is in the kitchen.
“The dynamics of homes in the U. S. draw people into the kitchen more,” Fanning said. “People are bringing PCs into their kitchen. They’re saying ‘I want that functionality brought into my kitchen.'”
Whirlpool, in collaboration with Cisco Systems, is developing an entire line of household appliances that will offer consumers the ability to use the power of the Internet throughout the home.
The first, a refrigerator, is equipped with a touchscreen Web tablet that can be used to surf the Internet and send e-mail. Like the TurboChef oven, the networked refrigerator also has the capability to control other household systems. The Web tablet – which has a range of up to 300 feet – fits into a docking station on the door of the refrigerator.
The choice of the refrigerator as the lead appliance was obvious.
“It already won in the paper world – your kids’ papers are on it, lists – it’s the focal point of kitchen information,” Fanning said.
Fanning said this evolution is, in part, the result of his company’s willingness to take a fresh view of products they’ve worked with for generations.
“We’ve stepped back from the traditional product focuses of ‘How do I use my refrigerator? How do I use my oven?'” Fanning said. “We look more realistically: ‘How are people living in their homes?’ That opened our eyes to things we could be offering that go beyond how big the crisper drawer is.”
The possibilities seem almost endless.
For example, it would be possible to communicate with your dryer – from work – and turn it back on (via the Internet) if the thought of the wrinkling clothes you forgot to take out the night before is nagging. Or, in the laundry room, stain removal methods could be formulated by programs that would consider specific fabric and stain types. The program could then communicate – with the washer – about exactly what to do in terms of heat and cycle.
Customized solutions are possible because “on a Web pad, you’re not married to the controls on the machine,” Fanning said. “It opens up a new door to breaking down the barriers of ‘Why couldn’t this do that?'”
Whirlpool’s Internet-enabled refrigerator (as well as many other appliances) will be on display at the Warwick mall on October27-29, as part of the Broadband Internet Home tour.
