From smart thermostats, Wi-Fi-connected refrigerators, and talking smoke detectors, it’s only a matter of time before the realm of ovens is affected by our smart technology. That time so happens to be now.
It’s called MAID, which stands for “Make All Incredible Dishes.” MAID is an intelligent microwave and convection oven that learns your tastes and eating habits, giving you suggestions on what to cook.
MAID could be making its way to future, smart kitchens thanks to a successful Kickstarter project that has already surpassed its $50,000 goal. MAID is prototype for now, so there could be a slew of changes from what the developers have come up with, which is expected. The features this thing has to offer is rad, and the possibilities are fun to think about, nonetheless.
The developers from the campaign state MAID “knows every recipe and cooks every dish.” Those are some high standards there, but it does help to know the appliance is connected to a Recipe Store on the interwebs. The online database features recipes so you have the option to share your favorites online with other MAID cooks. The Recipe Store allows chefs and cooks to upload recipes, as it is a crowd-sourced platform. I’m curious to see how well this will work.
If you’re not a fan of being in the kitchen, perhaps a smart oven is all you need to get your hands dirty.
From gesture-reading features and voice control, you no longer have to worry about flipping through pages in a cookbook when you can use your voice to control your cooking environment. Being hands-free in the kitchen scores some big points with me—what’s the point of cooking if you can’t make a mess? Now you can make a mess and enjoy it without dirty cookbook pages.
Plus, get this, you can even stream cooking shows from their Recipe Store so you can watch and cook at the same time. This is a neat feature because anytime I’m watching an awesome dish being made on TV, I always want to make it while it’s going on.
This oven is seriously with you from the beginning to end of your dish. If you need to prep some food before you begin, MAID also displays ingredients and gives you both voice and visual instructions on how to prepare them. If you’re ever unsure about how long it will take for a dish to cook or what temp to cook your food based on servings, that’s ok, MAID has your back. Although, you always do have the option to customize baking times and temps yourself. You can even cook any of your recipes in three different modes: convection, microwave, or top-heated selections. You can totally whip up a cake in microwave or convection mode; it’s all up to you and your stomach’s desire.
Speaking of desire, if you’re health conscious and trying to figure out what to eat based off of your lifestyle, MAID has you covered with their MAID app. The smart oven connects to your smartphone or smart watch and will suggest dishes for you to make based on what you like, your calorie goals, and habits. The app learns your daily activities and prompts you to work out based on what you’ve eaten. Oh man. A personal dietician? There’s no more sneaking a baked pumpkin pie slice anymore. This is a little creepy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome, but it’s pretty much like having a second parent or something—oven style.
MAID’s not ready to make its debut just yet, but it’s looking to be available more along the lines of Thanksgiving 2015. For now, enjoy those leftovers while you still have a chance. Oven parenting and guilt is right around the corner!
For now, check out MAID’s promo video below. After watching this, I couldn’t tell if it’s a promo video or dating personnel’s video -- perhaps that's the point. I’ll let you decide.
Read More
