Such chips might also send information to the microwave oven on the best way to cook the foodstuffs. Not everybody believes such opportunities will prove worthwhile in practice, however. N.Y. Nevertheless, Badami said, a lot of kitchen tasks might well be performed more efficiently and more economically if various appliances were able to exchange information. That same smart dishwasher might delay its wash cycle until the middle of the night, when the hot water heater was not being used for bathing or clothes washing. The customer, the end consumer, is becoming smarter.
Good design has to go hand in hand with better technology.
Still, there's a limit to how much people will pay for such innovations. Consumers are notoriously sensitive to price changes on kitchen appliances, Chbat said. That, and the longevity of many kitchen appliances, suggest that the march of technology into the kitchens may follow a slow path. The earliest beneficiaries may be buyers of newly built luxury homes, followed by wealthy people who renovate their kitchens. Not all the kitchen innovations will focus on food preparation, either.