Samsung announced an AI-powered service, or platform, called Samsung Food on Aug 30. It is partially based on Whisk, a cooking app acquired by Samsung in 2019. The service provides a personal assistant that helps in finding recipes, developing meal plans, generating shopping list for ingredients, guiding smart ovens, and social sharing. Building on the database from Whisk, the platform has 160,000 recipes and supports 8 languages.
Users can start with providing diet and food allergy information. They could also provide information regarding age, height, weight, and activity level, if desired. They may search for recipes that are compatible. After a user collects recipes for the week, the recipes are analyzed and modified into standard format. With the help of generative AI, the platform can customize meal plans and even recipes based on dietary and nutritional needs. For example, it is able to replace meat with vegetables in a recipe. Generative AI also enables the development of a grocery list based on a meal plan and even send the list to a shopping website. Step-by-step cooking guides are also available. More intriguing is the fact that Samsung Food is compatible with their smart home platform called SmartThings. This allows the communication with Wi-Fi connected smart appliances, such as smart oven so that the temperature can be set based on a recipe. After the cooking is done, a user might share pictures of the dish with family and friends through the app.
While not all the ideas here are new, this platform is among the first to connect recipe, food shopping, appliances, and social sharing in one place. Samsung mentioned plans to further develop this platform: having smart fridges to manage lists of food items and get recipe recommendations; using Vision AI for food recognition to get nutrition information; making the platform compatible with appliances from LG and other brands; integrating with Samsung Health to connect to BMI and calorie need information. The trend of kitchens getting smarter appears accelerating.
Summary
The Purpose
To help manage meal plans, cooking, and food shopping
The Idea
Use generative AI to standardize recipes and produce a grocery shopping list. Use recipes to control smart ovens.
Further Possibilities
1. Build a system where a dish picture is turned into a recipe
Take a photo of a great dish at a restaurant, we might be able to make it at home.
2. Keep an eating log based on the platform
The information might be fed to a health record. This record would be useful for physicians.
3. Collect and reward creative recipes from users
Users would be incentivized to innovate in cooking. Gamify the experience. Users could participate in weekly cooking challenges, earn badges, and share their accomplishments on social media.
4. Connect smart scale with the platform
Users can monitor weight and meal plans together.
5. Culinary time travel
Using VR, AI, and historical data allow users to experience and recreate dishes from different eras. Want to know what the Romans ate during their feasts? Now you can!
Questions
1. How might this platform help reduce food waste?
2. How might these technologies be used by physicians?
3. How might these technologies be used in a company?
