CES 2021: LG, Samsung show off automated kitchen innovation

It’s the hub of the home where your family meets — but the actual work you do in the kitchen is being automated at a rapid pace.

The evolving smart home is taking another turn in 2021 as we begin to talk with our appliances and allow them to talk to one another. On display in the virtual CES are a number of new innovations for our homes, some of which will be on sale in Australia this year. The hub of the home is changing to improve our cooking, with less effort and in a more hygienic way.

THE SMART FAUCET

Inside the hi-tech home of the future.

RELATED: Aussie invention a ‘recipe for disaster’

Thirsty? Ask the smart faucet from Kohler to give you 200ml of water, place the cup underneath and in it goes. The smart faucet removes the need for hot and cold taps and is all controlled through your voice assistant. You’ll also be able to add temperature requests and even program your drink bottle to give it a refill with ease. The days of the measuring jugs are over, who has that one coming?

THE HEALTHIER FRIDGE

Inside the hi-tech home of the future.

RELATED: Problem facing the ‘future of food’

LG and Samsung both made moves in this area. The latest fridge from LG can be opened by voice command for when you are carrying two bottles of wine and also adds a UV light near the water dispenser to ensure bacteria doesn’t move in. The latest LG fridges also enable Craft Ice providing you with large balls of ice to keep your whisky cool.

Samsung has hidden the water dispenser and placed it behind an initial door. In this drinks section of the fridge you’ll also have a water jug that is automatically refilled whenever it is returned to the fridge.

THE OVEN OF ALL TRADES

LG InstaView Range with Air Sous Vide

The latest oven from LG adds a number of features we wish we had during lockdown. Firstly, it can now air fry and even sous vide, essentially replacing two appliances that take up precious benchspace already. The oven door can trigger the internal light with a small knock but the controls of the oven can be all managed via voice. “Preheat the oven to 180” or “grill for ten minutes” is going to beat turning any knobs or dials and for frozen food lovers there is now an app for that. From your smartphone you could scan the barcode of your Hawaiian pizza and immediately send the cooking instructions to your oven. Preheat, cook and then reduce to keep warm until you pay attention to your phone notifications that dinner is ready.

AN EXTRA HAND IN THE KITCHEN

Inside the hi-tech home of the future.

We are more than ready to welcome the robots into the kitchen. If you ever thought unpacking the dishwasher was a chore or pouring your own wine was beneath you then the Samsung Bot Handy is something you’ll dream of.

A large robot with a single, multi-jointed arm and hand can open your dishwasher and carefully put your items away. It uses artificial intelligence and object recognition to apply the safest amount of sensitivity to each grip ensuring it won’t chip the good plates. And yes, it can pour you another glass of Chardonnay so you don’t need to beg your spouse to do it for you.

Once all the cooking is completed, the only other robot you’ll be commanding is for the clean up, and Ecovacs and RoboRock have new models which can be called upon by voice to clean a room of the house and even mop at the same time. For stubborn grime like sauce, the new vacuum and mopping robots will scrub on the spot to ensure it is clean before moving on.

Connect with Geoff Quattromani on Twitter @GQuattromani and listen to his podcast “Technology Uncorked”