Middo
Tools
Arduino, CSS, Figma, Fabrication, Adobe
Team Member
Reina Li, Shayne Shen, Xue Han, Yanru Qian
Problem Overview
Kitchen tool technology lacks accuracy and efficiency, causing people to distrust measuring tools and decreasing their connection with cooking.
Outcome
A reliable tool for accurately measuring the internal temperature of meat at the exact center, in order to ensure it is cooked to the desired level of perfection. It alleviates concerns about undercooking or overcooking by providing clear visual indicators (LED lights), enhancing efficiency and ensuring food safety.
Process
01.
Empathize
02.
Define
03.
Ideate
04.
Prototype
05.
Testing
06.
Reflect
How can we develop a measurement tool that allows efficiency and accuracy, yet users find it reliable during
cooking?
Define
The Missing gap of Existing Products
Feel: The participant values the tactile experience of cooking. She finds it to be a better way of gauging when and how food is cooked.
Efficiency: Since the participant often cooks for a large number of people, efficiency and accuracy are crucial to her. While cooking on the stove, she also likes to chop other ingredients to multitask effectively.
Multitasking: The participant enjoys multitasking and often struggles with the placement of her cooking books. She prefers to keep them close at hand.
The user was very hesitant to trust kitchen measuring tools because she said they do not accurately represent measurements, unlike her intuition.
Ideate
Brainstorming
We grouped findings into three different
sections, including increasing efficiency in the kitchen, improving organization in the household, and establishing an emotional connection between the cook and food.
What happen if we can design a kitchen measuring tools that target all three main points
We ended up choosing to redesign a meat thermometer, one of the most problematic tools, because users never know where to insert it into exactly. Base on surveys, the thermometer is one of the most important elements in establishing accuracy, yet users do not find it reliable.
Prototype
Low-Fi Prototype
Working Prototype Demonstration
Testing
Usability Testing
Unnoticeable visual cue
Clear visual communication
Subjective central temperature
Measuring both surface and central temperature to improve accuracy
Singular usage
Adding measurement for various types of meat to create a more versatile product.
Instability
Adding an optional supporting structure
Testing
Final Prototype
The mechanism is designed with a clamp to adjust the distance on the vertical axis, and the mechanism used in the drawing is a prototype to adjust height on the horizontal axis to accommodate different kinds of cooking stoves.
Learnings and Next Steps
Takeaways
Larger Impact and consequences
It was nice to solve such a critical issue and perfect a problem for the user. However, there could be more consideration on the long-term benefits.
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What impact does the product have on the future of thermometers? Does it address social issues? Is it able to work with other kitchen tools? Those are all some important questions to keep in mind.