Kitchen -- Engadget

kitchen posts

Panasonic serves up latest prototype robots, dish washing servant included (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 18th 2009 at 11:11AM

Keeping those dreams alive by scrubbing dishes at your least favorite eatery? Best put those aspirations on the front burner, as Panasonic's got a mighty fine robot swooping in to take your place -- and for a whole lot less cash, to boot. At Panny's robotics laboratory in Osaka, the company recently showcased its latest gaggle of prototype robots designed to help humans take it easy more often. Among the usual suspects were a porter robot designed to help with heavy lifting, while the star of the show was undoubtedly the dish washing bot that wasn't afraid to get its metallic digits wet and soapy. As expected, an array of integrated sensors kept it from grabbing a wine glass too tightly, and its four fingers enabled it to do most everything a human washer could (sans the kvetching). Have a peek at these guys in action just past the break.

[Via Impress]

Continue reading Panasonic serves up latest prototype robots, dish washing servant included (video)

Belling's Media Chef digital cookbook

by Paul Miller posted Oct 4th 2009 at 8:37AM

You know, back in our day, we would've imagined a digital cookbook being some virtual, possibly animated version of... you know, a book with recipes in it. These days kids and their fancy rock and roll cooking shows have taken over, and Belling's new Media Chef digital cookbook -- which looks like a glorified digital photo frame -- actually houses 48 cooking instructional videos from chef Brian Turner for playback on its 8-inch screen. Brian can be harnessed with an included compact remote control, and the unit can also act as a general media player, calendar and photo frame. It retails for £170ish (about $271 US) but we're not sure when.

Video: EeePC modded into a WalleeePC

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 11th 2009 at 12:36PM

We know how it is -- you were an early adopter of the netbook craze sweeping every nation from Austria to Australia, but now that 11-inches is looking like the new de facto standard, your old 7-incher just isn't cutting the mustard anymore. So what do you do? You mod that sucker into a kitchen cabinet door, of course. You'll need a 7-inch USB touchscreen to layer atop an EeePC 701, along with a few other bits and bobs, but the most important thing to remember is a spectacularly loony soundtrack. Or so the video after the break seems to instruct us.

[Via JKK Mobile]

Continue reading Video: EeePC modded into a WalleeePC

Casa Bugatti's Vera electric kettle proves that even boiling water can be interesting, pricey

by Laura June posted Aug 28th 2009 at 9:36AM

Know what we really love? Tea kettles. The thing is, plenty of them look like there was roughly zero thought put into their design -- and we've all gotten into the habit of accepting those 3 or 4 basic designs offered to us. No more. Bugatti's got a wholly new approach to boiling water on the horizon, in the form of the Vera. It's beautifully designed, it's got a nice array of electronic timing functions -- but the bells and whistles are just icing on this beautiful, delicious cake. The Vera kettle will be available this September, for around $300.

[Via Unplggd]

ChefStack automatic pancake machine -- for all your pancake party needs

by Laura June posted Aug 7th 2009 at 10:41AM

Remember the last time you made pancakes? No? Well, let us remind you: it ended in sadness and confusion because you simply couldn't crank out the insane volume of pancakes you wanted / needed. Well, the ChefStack is here to help. It's a giant, automated machine with internal rollers, and its entire purpose is to do nothing but make pancakes (roughly 200 per hour). Using pre-filled bags of batter, this dude does all the work while you site by, and apparently it's also a breeze to clean too, though we find that a bit hard to believe. Now -- do you need a machine that makes nothing but pancakes? Are the pancakes any good? Hard to say -- but this device, which seems to be targeted at restaurants, will run you about $3,500 if you really want to get your hands on one.

[Via SlashGear]

New-fangled digital measuring cup actually improves upon the original

by Laura June posted Aug 6th 2009 at 3:31AM

Now, there may not be a whole lot to this one -- it's simply a measuring cup with a backlit LCD on the handle that tells you the exact volume of the liquid you're measuring -- but it's a step forward in the culinary world, where it still feels like it's 1917 a lot of the time. The Smart Measure -- which started out as a concept on Yanko Design and has been picked up for distribution by kitchen giant Taylor -- boasts a bunch of preset measurements for ingredients in common recipes, and it can also do conversions for you, as well. There's no word on pricing, but we're expecting to see it hit shelves this fall.

Toshiba's Stainless Style 720p HDTV redefines kitchenware

by Darren Murph posted Jul 23rd 2009 at 3:23PM

Oh sure, outfits have claimed to ship kitchen-friendly TV sets before, but Toshiba just made 'em all look silly with the introduction of the 19LV612U. Less formally known as the first member of the Stainless Style TV series, this 18.5-inch set packs a built-in slot-loading DVD player, integrated ATSC / NTSC / QAM TV tuner and a 1,366 x 768 native resolution. Oh, and then there's the seductive stainless steel coating, which makes it fit in impeccably well with your modern day dishwasher, refrigerator and microwave oven. Other specs include 300 nits of brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, five millisecond response time, HDMI / VGA inputs, a headphone jack and VESA mount support. It's expected to ruin meals regularly starting this September for $349.99

Domestic visionary Dyson's totally square kitchen

by Joseph L. Flatley posted May 5th 2009 at 4:34PM

James Dyson, the man who single-handedly transformed the vacuum cleaner from a symbol of domestic oppression to an object of techno-lust, is back on the scene with not one, but a whole coterie of kitchen appliances designed to save space -- by sticking 'em in a box. No longer must Americans stand for tea kettles shaped like tea kettles, toasters shaped like toasters, or for juicers... you get the idea. What's more, these guys are all designed to work together: controls are uniformly placed on the top or front panels, with devices sharing common power supplies. As it stands, this is all currently little more than a story dreamt up on the basis of a patent, fodder for a slow news day, and something which neither Dyson nor his colleagues commit to actually making a real reality -- even if patent US 2009/0095729 tells us a different story. But what the hell? A guy can dream, right?

[Via Core77]

Kitchen-safe Demy recipe reader could revolutionize your cooking

by Darren Murph posted Mar 30th 2009 at 9:22AM

While we can only assume that "kitchen-safe" means that it won't melt when tossed accidentally in the oven nor be fazed by splattering hot grease, we'd still exercise a good deal of caution when reading off of the Demy digital recipe reader. Crafted by Key Ingredient, this here device packs a sealed 7-inch display, storage for up to 2,500 recipes and USB connectivity for syncing with your PC. Furthermore, it provides three kitchen timers, a measurement conversion calculator and an ingredient substitution dictionary to get cooks out of a pinch if they are one special ingredient short. Currently, the device is listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon, though we'd probably start scrounging up those three Benjamins if you hope to own one free and clear whenever "soon" turns to "now."

[Via PopGadget]

Gallery: Kitchen-safe Demy recipe reader could revolutionize your cooking

IZONA CoolDrawer refrigerator chills with your pots and pans

by Darren Murph posted Feb 27th 2009 at 8:56AM

You know, it seems that bigger is always thought to be better when it comes to refrigerators. Each year, we see these already goliath boxes growing even larger, though you won't catch us kvetching about making room for integrated LCDs. To that end, Fisher & Paykel is looking out for those of us cooped up in tiny apartments with the introduction of its IZONA CoolDrawer. As you can see, the unit looks more like a standard cabinet than a real deal fridge, and it reportedly does an outstanding job of preserving the few essentials that bachelors and space-constrained citizens keep on hand. Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to price, but let's just say you'll probably end up paying more for less, sadly.

[Via core77]

Pizza Pro: like a circular saw for your pizza pies

by Darren Murph posted Feb 4th 2009 at 5:04AM

As with the tried and true toaster, the traditional pizza cutter has gone far, far too long without a redesign. Don't get us wrong -- the standard cutter seems to slice through Digiorno pies just fine, but it really doesn't add too much fun to the whole process. That's where Fred & Friends comes in. The unimaginatively named (and currently unpriced) Pizza Pro beautifully weds a circular saw with a pizza slicer, and while this thing doesn't actually rev up and send shreds of cheese, pepperoni and burnt crust flying when making its way from one side to the other, it certainly makes the art of carving up a pie for eight infinitely more enjoyable.

[Via GearDiary]

'Clicking' cursor oven mitts let you mouseover baked ziti

by Laura June posted Jan 17th 2009 at 11:17PM

It's pretty simple, really: these "clicking cursor" oven mitts (which aren't clicking, but whatever) would make a completely, mind-numbingly awesome addition to any gadget-lover's kitchen. We want them now. Too bad they're not available... yet.

[Via OhGizmo!]

ILVE introduces VELA rangehood with built-in LCD TV

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2008 at 6:37PM

Not that we haven't seen LCD-equipped rangehoods before, but ILVE's VELA just has that art deco flair that so turns us on. All personal details aside, this here kitchen appliance was designed by Marco Valerio Agretti and features a 4-speed touch control extraction, optional automatic switch-on / speed regulation, all stainless steel construction, a light indicator for filter management and a washable anti-grease filter. Now that you've survived that snore-fest, here's the real details you're after: there's a 10-inch LCD TV built right in there, and with that comes a remote control and an RCA input / output for hooking up your cable box, a DVD player or any flavor of game console. Unfortunately, actual specifications of the TV -- as well as pricing for the entire unit -- are nowhere to be found, but it's pretty safe to assume those who have to ask probably won't be buying. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via T3]

Scan Toaster puts the power of 'miracle toast' into the hands of mere mortals

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Sep 12th 2008 at 9:03AM

Industrial designer Sung Bae Chang has finally given us mortals the ability to do that which was once considered a bona-fide miracle. Using the "Scan Toaster," anyone with a PC and a USB cable can burn the likeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or any image or text that you wish) onto a slice of bread. The toaster utilizes a network of toasting "modules" -- hot wires that rotate within a 30 degree radius -- that burn the image or text you have selected onto the delicious slice of your choice. The peripheral is a finalist in a design competition run by the appliance manufacturer Electrolux, so as-of-yet there aren't any plans to manufacture it on a mass scale. We're guessing that Mr. Sun Bae Chang probably wants to keep the awesome power of the Scan Toaster for himself anyway.

Space-age Hitachi refrigerators spray your eats with antioxidants

by Darren Murph posted Sep 1st 2008 at 4:16AM

We won't even pretend to act like we're fluent in Japanese, but based on our best understanding of machine translation, Hitachi has a few new refrigerators that will actually spritz your food with antioxidants and vitamins to keep things exceptionally fresh and clean (clean). The R-Y6000 and R-Y5400 will evidently sense what types of foods are stored in what compartments, after which a specified amount of nutrients will be emitted in order to keep things from spoiling too soon. We aren't too keen on a robotic fridge having the power to douse our grub with whatever chemical it pleases, but so long as it uses FDA-approved vitamins, minerals, HGH and anabolic steroids, we suppose we'll live.

[Thanks, Penny]