Kitchen technology has become considerably advanced in the past several years. With the advent of smart appliances, consumers are now wondering if we might be on the path to a world in which kitchens are entirely automated.
But what exactly would a fully automated kitchen look like? And what are our chances of getting there?
The Many Forms of the Modern Kitchen
It’s hard to say exactly what the modern kitchen looks like, simply because there are so many varieties now. There have been trends in favor of larger, more open spaces, with more available counter space and modern appliances. But there has also been a trend in favor of a more rustic, charming, and cozy feel.
Outdoor kitchens have also become popular. You can design almost any kind of layout you want, assuming you have the outdoor space for it, and you can use your outdoor kitchen as a supplement for your indoor kitchen. It makes cleanup easier, it lends itself to hosting social gatherings, and it breaks from the norm of traditional kitchen limitations.
Many people, though not all, now have at least some smart features in their kitchens. Smart refrigerators and smart ovens have begun to work their way into the landscape of modern kitchens, and even people who don’t like smart appliances likely have a smart thermometer maintaining an adequate climate in their houses.
In any case, it’s likely that your kitchen has at least some advanced technology, though you’re probably feeling decades away from a kitchen that can automatically make and serve you food.
The Current State of Kitchen Automation
So where exactly do we stand when it comes to automation in the kitchen?
· Commercial food production. Depending on what you mean by “kitchen,” it’s possible to claim that automated kitchen technology already exists. Advanced factory machinery and robotics are used in commercial food production all over the globe; in fact, it’s one of the main reasons why food has become so inexpensive. Automation is what allows for food processing at scale. However, these technologies haven’t made their way into individual kitchens, and they probably won’t for some time, as they’re both expensive and complicated to use.
· Task and workflow management. We’ve all used task and workflow management tools that seek to automate various processes, especially in a business context. Although these are rarely useful for small-scale, residential cooking endeavors, they are extremely useful in industrial contexts.
· Smart refrigerators and smart appliances. Smart refrigerators come in many forms these days. Some of them automatically scan the interior of your refrigerator for items, so you can take inventory and plan your shopping. Some of them offer recipes and guidance for cooking. Although this doesn’t take the manual labor out of the equation, it does greatly simplify certain aspects of your cooking and kitchen management.
A Vision of a Fully Automated Kitchen
A fully automated kitchen would have all the technology and equipment necessary to handle practically every conceivable kitchen task, from ordering ingredients to preparing them, serving food, and even cleaning up afterward. This might come in the form of tiny robots or similar machines that can function totally autonomously, or according to user instructions.
The Barriers
This vision seems straight out of sci-fi, in part because there are so many barriers preventing us from creating this technology today.
· Costs. Cost is a huge factor, and on multiple fronts. For starters, it costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time to research and develop new technologies, and most investors aren’t willing to part with their money unless they’re assured of an adequate return on investment. On the other end of the spectrum, consumers aren’t willing to pay $10,000 for a sophisticated smart refrigerator, so they probably won’t be willing to pay even more for automated robots.
· Tech limitations. Right now, the technology just isn’t there. The automated preparation and cooking equipment in industrial settings is extremely large and cumbersome, and probably wouldn’t fit in a residential kitchen.
· Privacy and security. Almost any form of smart technology introduces concerns about privacy and security. If these automated systems handle things truly independently, and if they gather data along the way, consumers may have genuine reasons for concern.
· General consumer concerns. Consumers also have other, more general concerns about automated kitchen technology. For example, what if it goes rogue or is hacked?
A Timeline Tech innovation is incredibly hard to predict. Accordingly, we aren’t going to make any firm predictions here. But it does seem like kitchen technology is on a consistently upward path, and it’s only a matter of time before we get access to fully automated technologies. That might take decades, or it might take even longer, but it seems to be what we’re building toward.
