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But there is one place where smart technology might make a difference, and that is in the kitchen. I have been dismissive of smart fridges and internet connected ranges before, but after reading Jennifer Tuohy’s article The Smart Kitchen: The Next Big Hope for the Internet of Things in TriplePundit, I realize that you cannot look at these appliances in isolation. She writes:
What is the largest producer of waste and second largest user of energy in the home? The kitchen. …I believe the smart kitchen is the next big thing for the smart home, the residential arm of IOT. If manufacturers can figure out a way to make smart products in the kitchen that reduce waste and energy use and increase convenience, then we will have a win for the planet, the consumer and business.
Is a smart kitchen a good idea, or the set up for an episode of, "Murder, She Wrote?"
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday October 10 2016, @05:10PM
I've already learned how not to buy more food than my household can eat before it spoils, and while the recipe planning feature might be useful, it's nothing that can't be done by sitting down for half an hour before going to the grocery and thinking of what you should be making for the week. I very rarely throw stuff out of the fridge because it's gone bad
I'm basically like this too, but I believe we're in the minority. My experience is that most people tend to fall more into the "hoarder," "disorganized," or "too busy to deal with cooking" classifications (which are overlapping categories).
Hoarders just like having full fridges and freezers and pantries... they don't really care much what's in them, though often they tend to like buying stuff "on sale" to get "deals." The problem with hoarders is that 90% of stuff in the fridge or pantry is inaccessible without moving 5 things in front of it, so stuff that's more than a couple layers deep just stays there for years.
Disorganized folks are the norm, and even organized people may not care enough to be organized in their kitchen if they don't really like cooking. Disorganized people don't tend to plan grocery store visits -- they often end up picking up a handful of items every other day because they keep forgetting stuff. And that forgetfulness extends to fridge and pantry, too, where they'll spend $20 on some special imported package of X because they'd love to make Y special dish, but then they forget about it and find it 4 months later after it's spoiled.
And lots of folks just don't enjoy cooking period or are too busy to deal with it. Unlike the simply disorganized folks, these people can't even manage the initiative to buy X to make Y. They stock freezers with TV dinners and have pantries full of cereal, ramen, and the "orange food group" (which includes stuff from Doritos to cheese balls to...). Fridges are where stuff "goes to die," generally leftovers... which will be uncovered 3 weeks later when some awful smell just doesn't go away.
Those who can actual plan meals and control input/output to avoid food waste are either too poor to function otherwise or are part of the very small minority of organized people who actually care about their kitchens. Bottom line -- even if this isn't useful for you or me, the vast majority of people may actually like this function.