The Virtual Chef Against Food Waste
A virtual chef will track products in refrigerators and shelves with cameras and scales.
Have you ever been so lazy to cook? Or did you go to the store and didn’t know what to buy? What do you have in the fridge, and what food will soon be spoiled soon? This can be avoided. No, hey, you still need to cook but you can facilitate the task!
The Lettuce Labs project is going to reduce food waste in cities. In London, almost 1 million tons of food is thrown every year because a huge amount of food spoils or people do not eat what they have prepared or bought too many products without calculating the required amount, and they have to throw away this food.
Students at Imperial College Dyson School of Design Engineering decided to fix the problem of food waste. They took an idea of “connected kitchen”. Devices in different places determine the quantity, quality, and type of ingredients that you have available.
The program automatically offers you certain recipes and dishes, recommends how to use all the products and to avoid food waste. Unavoidable waste is stored in a worktop “caddy” that scans its chemical contents for the matter that can be turned into fuel bricks for burning at a biogas renewable energy plant.
Students, as well as their leaders and director, are optimistic. Using internet-of-things devices and Virtual Chef they want to make people reduce food waste at home.
Lettuce Labs’ co-founder Joseph Shepherd said: “The Connected Kitchen Kit with the help of cameras and scales in your fridge and cupboards will recognize all products that enter it and measure how much food do you have. Then all necessary data will go into Virtual Chef, kitchen virtual voice assistant, that lives in our hub device.”
“Virtual Chef will be looking after ordering food, help you to plan the next meal, instruct you through the cooking process.” All the boring routine will be taken over by your new assistant!
The director of this university believes that his students make grandiose discoveries that contribute to making life much better for everyone. There are many other inventions such as Re: flex, a super-material made from plastic and elastomer that is designed to be tough and durable but can be molded into solid shapes using heat.
Another invention, Embla, is a smart office that is equipped with a special floor that responds to physiological signals. It helps to monitor the condition of workers and to give the work a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere.
Internet-of-things is an amazing thing that will soon be used in every area of life. With these technologies and Virtual Chef, it will be much easier and more convenient for people to perform even boring routine work.
