TANGIBLE

Development of tangible interfaces through furniture designed to improve the user's experience during monitoring, management and interaction in smart kitchens

Summary

The introduction of technology represents a paradigm shift both in the restaurant industry and in the domestic kitchen. The availability of a growing number of technological components and digital content in new devices and appliances represents the gateway to a more efficient, straightforward and collaborative effort. This new technological and material context means that the available objects and resources tend to be more sophisticated; however, viewed from the perspective of the overall user experience, those objects and resources tend to be less understandable and usable.

The TANGIBLE project integrates tangible interface technologies (TUI, Tangible User Interfaces) embedded in the surfaces and materials of the kitchen equipment in order to: i) facilitate the management of the options offered by the digital environment, ii) stimulate more inclusive co-creation activities within work processes and iii) offer new utilities of value to users of professional and domestic kitchens.

Results transferable to companies

The results of the project will be applied to the design and manufacture of kitchen furniture for the HORECA and domestic distribution segments, specifically:

Kitchen designers, manufacturers and distributors: favoring a greater product specialization and boosting its differential added value as a novel element that will be key to simplifying interaction with other technological solutions available in the kitchen.
Managers of professional and community kitchen spaces: facilitating the introduction of tools that allow for progress in the professionalization of collaborative work processes for gastronomic creation, and promoting the digital transformation of these work spaces.
Kitchen equipment specifiers (such as interior design studios or specialized space designers): providing a greater variety of interior design options based on the flexible and discreet integration of technology, with a direct impact on improving the physical and emotional well-being of the people using this space.