I have decided to pursue the concept of a “smart stove” or stovetop. All concept iterations feature a hybrid electric stovetop and interactive touch screen. This allows the user to follow recipes deftly, multitask efficiently, and at a glance see an immense amount of information about their impending meal.
Mockup 1: “home”
This first mockup illustrates the initial vision of the object. The main display is sectioned into two, the back functioned as a burner and the front functioning as a readout of instructions. In this iteration, I envisioned the main display and the secondary display (shown upright at the back) to be non-touch enabled to maximize safety. (i.e. someone accidentally touching the screen while the burner is hot, etc.) In this case, the input device is one multi-use knob. This can be used to switch between displays my clicking up-down-left-right and can be used within displays by rotating and clicking in. Perhaps the surface of the knob could also function as a trackpad in cases. Overall this design is the most default; it is a compromise between high technology and functionality, and low cost and barrier to entry.
Mockup 2: “solo”
Similar to the first iteration, this smaller device has one surface (currently functioning as a burner), a secondary upright display, and an input knob like the first. The main difference other than the size is the portability. I pictured this iteration to be a sort of hotplate, and would allow people to buy in to the high-tech cooking experience without gutting their kitchen.
Mockup 3: “future”
This iteration is the most “techy” and perhaps complicated. Here, the display is double the width as the others, effectively having room for four burners. The entire display here is touch enabled, thus there is no input knob on the sides. Here we see the top right quadrant being used as a burner, the bottom right still being used as step-by-step cooking instructions, but the left side has opened up more possibilities. The bottom left quadrant is being used as an interactive cooking guide, here leading someone through peeling potatoes. The surface can recognize the weight of the potatoes and keep count of how many more you need, in this case it is to feed four adults. The top left now shows what was on the secondary [upright] display in the previous iterations, showing a readout of the current temperature of the water and how long until boil. Also, there is a home screen navigation with several hypothetical apps (which here are: Airplay, weather, notes, cooking, phone). Last but not least, since the entire surface is now touch enabled, the physical knob is gone and instead we have a 2-D knob image to control the burner.
