Kitchens

"Counter Intelligence"

Kitchens are a rich, compelling and very personal, yet social domain in which to explore networked systems of things that think. Within the Media Lab, projects such as ``Mr. Java''[#!mrjava!#] and ``Counter Intelligence'' (CI)[#!counterintelligence!#] have begun scouting this territory. In particular, CI, initially developed by Joseph Kaye, Andy Wheeler, and Niko Matsakis, demonstrated some basic concepts of an intelligent kitchen through a scripted demo, but was not actually a functioning prototype.

The ``Counter Intelligence'' system ran into the problems of developing large networked systems of things. While individual components worked reasonably well, creating a well integrated, functional recipe assistant application proved very difficult. Further, the system design ran into obstacles, as it was not clear what sensor technology was going to be available. An underlying framework for connecting a diverse and possibly changing set of things that think was needed.

Additionally, controlling all of the devices in a kitchen in a centralized way is not necessarily possible, and in a practical sense is undesirable. The control system for a stove, refrigerator, and cabinets should be capable of being separate, but communicating, systems.

Finally, a system that allows for a flexible security architecture is valuable. While in a prototype system, security is

The kitchen of the future
Photo credit: Peter Menzel

not a paramount concern, in an actual networked kitchen, malicious break-ins to one's appliances can pose a serious threat. These could occur if the kitchen network were connected to the Internet at large, or through intentional or accidental problems with software installed in the kitchen. Therefore, some allowance for security is needed.

There has been little scholarly research on networked or future kitchens in general. The little work that has been done has either been commercial development and prototypes, or design oriented work that does not directly consider the implications of new technology.

In the commercial development category, there are a number of examples of novel work in the kitchen that have appeared recently. Ariston Digital, a division of Merloni, has created a line of home appliances that network over power lines. They provide services such as warnings in case of power failure, telediagnostics, power consumption management, and through the ``Home Smart Monitor'', recipe access and Internet connectivity. Liebherr has developed an inventory tracking refrigerator. Electrolux has produced the ``Screen Fridge'', which is essentially a refrigerator with a laptop attached. Zanussi has a set of ``intelligent'' household appliances named ``LIVE-IN''. In non-technologically motivated design of a future kitchen, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has designed the Universal Kitchen prototype. None of these systems has yet approached the vision of a truly networked kitchen.