As we start playing with, testing the Jetson Nano, we are also trying to understand how this technology fits in the kitchen by conducting a mini design thinking exercise.  The first step in design thinking is Empathy. We spent time understanding the different habits, attitudes, and problems experienced in the kitchen.

Common themes were: variety, health, inspiration/recommendation, time, budget, waste, privacy, and social.

Our three key takeaways are:

1. While food underpins everything we do (we need energy to work, play, and create), people often dread spending excessive amount of time in the kitchen.

2. People strive to eat and live healthy lives, but often trade a healthy diet for convenience.

3. Though people feel bad creating extra waste (excess packaging, forgotten leftovers, and rotten fruits), chefs make choices that save time and money in the short term in an effort to reduce stress in the kitchen.

We've included photographs from our brainstorming sessions and a text summary of our findings.  Click the Read More link below if you're interested.

Is there anything else you think we should add?

We would love your input.

Points of Pain:

• I feel cooking apps/recipe recommenders are missing something that understands why a choice was made.
• I feel that many cooking apps are missing attribute search vs just text body search
• I like pull, not push.
• Coordination is hard
• I'm too tired to cook, plan, and shop
• I feel broken processes lead to disarray
• I do not like big data making choices/recommendations for me.
• I feel that food allergies, taste preferences, and diets make cooking difficult.
• I feel I often don't have ingredients to make what I want right now.
• I don't always know ingredients are finished.
• I want to find my ingredients in my pantry. If I can't find it, I can't use it (Don't know where it is)
• I don't know what to cook with what I have.
• I feel my counters are cluttered
• I feel my counter Roomba is underutilized because of what sits on the counter
• Do I really have room for another thing sitting on the counter?
• I feel that when I'm hangry I can make poor decisions
• I don't want to have to buy the same brand of appliance just to "talk"/ communicate with appliances.
• I don't like food expiring before consumption.
• I don't know how to cook.
• I don't like to decide what to cook for dinner.
• I get stressed trying to determine what to cook.
• I feel guilty when throwing away food.
• I feel rushed when in the kitchen
• I dislike cleaning a lot of dishes
• I don't like eating the same thing again and again and again and again...

Points of ... well, just some data points:

• Food is sustenance (energy)
• Many different tastes, flavors.
• Acceptable substitutions?
• Cooking equipment impacts my decisions on what to cook and storage, etc.
• How are we not a gimmick?
• JIT (Just in time) ordering vs Stockpile vs always out of stock. What's the right level?
• Many things are stored in cupboards

Points of Happiness:

• I feel cooking can be fun.
• I feel satisfaction when I learn new skills
• I feel good when my kitchen is clean and organized
• I want good, tasty, nutritious food.
• I want easy planning, quick pick a few meals you like.
• I do like inspiration for cooking.
• I like ease of shopping
• I want something to help me save time in cooking, planning, shopping, etc.
• I want something to help reduce my food cost and reduce food waste.
• I feel good when people appreciate the food I cook.
• I enjoy sharing recipes ( and tips and food) Example: Silicon mat.
• I want to feel healthy.
• I feel good and my butt looks good (fit)
• I enjoy potlucks and socializing with food.
• I don't want gimmick equipment that doesn't really do the job, takes up space, wastes time.
• I want a counter Roomba to constantly sweep/wash counter.
• I want to sit down with my family for a proper meal.
• I like to try new foods when I have time.
• I want food recommendations based on what's in my pantry.
• I want to spend less time grocery shopping.
• I like synergistic (non-distracting) activities that I do while cooking. (e.g. relaxing music)
• I like fresh food/produce.
• I like to stock up during sales.
• I would like to know what other people want to eat.