Miele has installed its Food Lab at the futuristic Living Tomorrow building in Vilvoorde, near Brussels: it combines digital high tech and Artificial Intelligence with the company’s kitchen appliances. Living Tomorrow is an experimental innovation centre and was inaugurated last year. More than 80 partner companies showcase their vision of future living: Miele has installed its Food Lab on the top floor of the twelve-storey building. “The assistance systems in the Food Lab have been given the names Nutrition Assistant and Cooking Companion – Miele explains –. Both are prototypes controlled via the Miele Cloud and featuring functionalities, several of which are likely to reach market maturity in just a matter of years”. As regards to the Nutrition Assistant, “this planner in the kitchen scenario – Miele adds – is familiar with family members and their favourite recipes but also their special dietary needs and allergies to foodstuffs. The Nutrition Assistant compiles weekly menus and takes into account which members of the family will be present at the respective meals. The Nutrition Assistant does justice to its name in respect of one further detail: on request, it is able to assess the vital and activity data of the user, provided for instance via wearables, and compiles a personalised weekly menu”. The transition from the menu planning to the digital chef (the Cooking Companion) is seamless and can be experienced live in the Food Lab. “As a smart, self-learning system, the Cooking Companion becomes familiar with the capabilities of cooks in a household – Miele says – and gradually adjusts to their individual pace”. Using this approach, the Cooking Companion prompts users to put food into the oven or the steam cooker or to pre-heat the frying pan on the hob. Settings such as operating modes, temperatures and times are controlled by the system. The Artificial intelligence makes sure that nothing overcooks or boils over and controls the cooking process. The Miele Food Lab constitutes part of the Vapor restaurant run by the Belgian chef Marc Clement.
Besides, a second project has been brought to life by Miele at the Voco Hotel, which takes in several storeys at the Living Tomorrow building. “Service robots – Miele explains – wend their way along the hotel corridors in the service of guests. These autonomous prototypes carry suitcases and feature drawers used by room service: the hotel guest places an order from the convenience of an app, the robot is loaded in the hotel office or kitchen with the ordered items and announces its arrival in advance by calling the guest’s smartphone”.
