Electrolux debuts intelligent "auto-focus" Inspiro oven

Electrolux has never been one to cling to the usual household appliance conventions, and it now looks to be pushing beyond 'em once again with its new "auto-focus" Inspiro oven, which promises to automatically pick the proper cooking settings based on the contents of the oven. That's apparently done with an array of sensors that determine the exact combination of energy consumption and time needed to bring food to the correct temperature, which Electrolux describes as working in much the same way "cameras now automatically set aperture, exposure time and focus, depending on the light and what's in the frame." Of course, those that like to feel that their smarter than their oven can also make use of a manual mode, although it's not clear when they'll actually be able to do that, with no word on a release date (or a price) just yet.

[Via Kitchen Contraptions]

[Philippe @ Mar 18th 2008 4:30PM]

How ironic is the typo: "feel that their smarter than their oven".

[Philippe @ Mar 18th 2008 4:34PM]

That being said, pretty neat advancement in cooking ware.

And the first one to say "I, for one, welcome..." will be place inside the oven.

[Brian @ Mar 18th 2008 4:39PM]

I hope that was intentional....

[Chuckles McGee @ Mar 19th 2008 1:40PM]

God I love Engadget, but FIX THE TYPOS!!!

[stompntom @ Mar 18th 2008 4:30PM]

Yes because the auto setting on camera takes the best pictures......

...actually kind of a neat idea - if it works

[ScooterDe @ Mar 18th 2008 5:42PM]

I wonder how the autofocus will work with six months of grease over the lens...

[Anthony @ Mar 18th 2008 4:38PM]

Can anyone else smell the lawsuits cooking when someone gets food poisoning from undercooked chicken?

[Brian @ Mar 18th 2008 4:45PM]

Pork, too...

[Kris S. @ Mar 18th 2008 4:47PM]

I wish my camera had faster autofocus. :(

[Ian @ Mar 18th 2008 5:02PM]

Sounds like a "half baked" idea.

[Mymaclife @ Mar 18th 2008 5:45PM]

Should be a good picture on a screen this size.

[murray @ Mar 18th 2008 5:56PM]

Shouldn't it be "auto-exposure"?

[Allen @ Mar 18th 2008 6:01PM]

well, I give them kudo's for trying. But I doubt it'd be able to cook as well as a normal human being because it cannot make value judgments. Only a human can actually say if something is worth something or what tastes good, machines can only use pre-determined parameters. And even then they sometimes fail.

Mathematical formula? Can do. Calculating rates, times, distances? Easy. Whats the proper temperature for a perfect turkey? There is the problem. A computer can't tell what a perfect turkey is and what qualifies as a perfect turkey anyway? That varies based on the human.

I still think its a good idea, but those sensors should be put to use giving feedback to the user, not to a processor trying to work out pre-determined variables. Think about it, what if your oven could provide you with information based on how cooked the bird is? It couldn't measure how succulent the feathered friend is, but it could tell you, say, a percentage of how far through the meat is cooked, or how much juice is currently sitting in the pan (in milliliters). That would help a user control the degree by which they've cooked the bird without having to take it out, cut it open, and say "not done enough," or "ah I burned it" or "to dry."

Now THAT would be a oven I'd be interested in.

[Prokanda @ Mar 18th 2008 10:49PM]

this entire post and I have two things to comment about... do you think they wouldn't allow you to specify preferences and "too".

[dan @ Mar 18th 2008 8:49PM]

I can see it working well but I hope it has a temperature probe to check the initial temperature and monitor the cooking. I can imagine telling it that I'd like the turkey to be be ready to carve at 6:30, including the 30 minute rest, and have it check the temperature, estimate it's weight, check its database and respond, "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. Is it all right if it's done by 7:00".

[ARiC @ Mar 19th 2008 12:14AM]

wow, so many comments and so many things not worth commenting on yet. How does anybody think they can comment on how well this would work when it hasn't been released yet (and with such little data). Are the naysayers forgetting about the multitudes of things already automated? Evidently, computers are better at many things, why is cooking out of the question?

Cool idea. It will be interesting to see how accurately and consistently it can perform.

[Shadow @ Mar 20th 2008 7:56PM]

How long would it take to fry your pc in there? =D
wow...
=D

[Jan @ Mar 23rd 2008 12:39PM]

The oven will be released all over Europe during the coming months, it's already for sale in France and few other countries. Price is around 2500 euros.

[Fran @ May 22nd 2008 11:24AM]

Has had an apple cake cooked by this oven and its pretty good :-)