The AI Custom Oven (Samsung)
Bakers rejoice: Samsung’s new smart oven uses artificial intelligence to warn you when your dish is burning.
The new built-in oven features an internal camera along with food and burn detection algorithms that can identify more than 100 different types of dishes and ingredients. This sets it apart from counter-top ovens that currently offer similar AI tricks, including models from June, Brava and GE – many of which look like microwaves.
Together, Samsung says that the technology in its oven can give you the ideal temperature, time and way for the dishes, and send you notifications to avoid burning.
It announced the custom AI oven at the cavernous CES tech event in Las Vegas, where startups and established brands show off their flashiest gadgets, from truly wireless TVs to motion-sensitive makeup applicators.
Under the guise of making them “smart”, the Korean electronic giant has been full of sensors and screens in its kitchen appliances. Much of this may seem unnecessary to general consumers – do you really need to take video calls in a fridge, for example? – but an AI oven may be your best bet.
Imagine a time when you never have to risk a spoiled lasagna because it’s Strictly in your way.
It also helps that Samsung already has a smart home ecosystem and the brand know-how to make the technology mainstream. You can connect the oven to Wi-Fi and use Samsung’s SmartThings Cooking platform to view the camera stream from your phone, play with timers and preheat the oven.
However, the device is not without its flaws. For aspiring YouTubers, the internal camera can also be used to broadcast live what’s in the oven. Oddly, it features a push-to-open door mechanism instead of a traditional handle, which sounds a bit dangerous on paper. Of course, there is also a seven-inch touchscreen that lets you change the settings manually.
If you’re already rooted in your Samsung mobile device, the bakery can use your workout and nutrition stats to recommend meal options based on the ingredients you have lying around.
Samsung says the oven will launch in the EU and the US in the third quarter of this year, with prices yet to be announced.
