Idea: How Smart Kitchens Should Work

Why would someone want to configure their blender for Wi-Fi?  Or upgrade the firmware of their toaster over? Or replace their perfectly working microwave because their refrigerator does not support it anymore? It is unlikely that someone would want to do these things but this seems to be  the direction where smart kitchen appliances are heading with the Internet of Things. 

For the "Internet of Things" many of these "things" are just low powered computers put in a device and then connected to the user's home network.  This means that they have the same basic needs as a computer, tablet, smartphone, etc. in that they need to be:

• Authenticated so they have a secure connection
• Able to protect themselves against malicious traffic
• Patched when flaws or vulnerabilities are discovered
• Upgraded to support new features

These are very important tasks but they are not something users like to think about and probably not something they want to do with their blender, toaster oven, microwave, etc..  Despite all the benefits of smart appliances one does not want to wait for their smoothie to blend because of an installing patch or have that new game on their tablet decide that their baked potato should be very, very well done. To solve this problem I suggest the creating a smart kitchen instead.

Rather then having each appliance on the home network individually, have only a dedicated computer in the kitchen on that network.  This computer could then treat the other appliances like a private network and would be the only interface between them and devices on the other network.  It alone would need to be configured and would also have a firewall just like a regular computer in addition to managing all the patching to ensure that the kitchen operates smoothly. 

A critical benefit is also that the computer can be the primary point of interaction.  Therefore, when cooking a roast when the user opens up the their recipe the oven would preheat, the timers would automatically be set and anything else they need would be configured and ready to go.  Also as it is a standard computer it would be possible to install new kitchen applications to increase functionality as well as browsing the Internet, using email, etc. when additional information is needed.

The main hurtle is that standards need to be established to ensure compatibility among vendors but I imagine that would be easier convincing people to enter a WPA2 password on their blender, toaster oven, microwave, etc..

Texting Smartphone Assistants Works Better

Have you ever walked into a dark room and said "Computer: Lights" to yourself? One of the most iconic parts of Star Trek, as well as other sci-fi, is the characters verbally issuing commands to their computer/robot/android then listening to their response.  However, on the bridge of the Enterprise the viewer rarely saw the crew talking with the computer but rather busily typing commands into their stations.  This is easy to understand as it would be hard for the captain to command the ship or talk to someone through the view screen if he was surrounded by people talking to the computer, much like the experience one would have on a train if everyone around them was asking questions to their smartphones.

This was a problem that quickly developed with cell phones as people becoming annoyed when someone in earshot was talking on their phone.  It has become its own category of bad behavior and has caused cell phone use to be discouraged or banned in certain situations.  In addition, multiple people attempting to talk on the phone together is also disruptive, either to the other callers and to the conversation in general. To solve this people turning to a more private, silent form of communication that still involves words: text messaging.

In addition to the ability to conduct private conversations in public, communicating with written text allows for greater accuracy and a record of what was said.  If someone want to know an address it is much better to be able to repeatedly refer to the original text message then to hear it once or maybe refer to something that had to be transcribed from what the recipient thinks they heard.  This is especially true if there is background noise or they are in a crowd, something that is common when using a smartphone.

Despite the fact that the assistants are responding to commands that can be easily written, many insist or promote the user having to speak the command.  In a restaurant why does someone have to choose between speaking "Add an appointment tomorrow at two PM" and possibly disturbing the other customers or manually entering the appointment?  They should be able to text the assistant the same command, much like they would with a human assistant and have the task completed with any responses texted back.

While it may not be as iconic or fun as saying "Computer: What is my location?", the ability to text "What is my location" to a smartphone assistant is far more useful since it integrates much better into the user's daily life.