If you hate cooking as much as I do, you’ll be stoked to hear about June — a high-tech oven that recognizes food and automatically adjusts to perfectly cook it.
The idea of San Francisco-based business developer Matt Van Horn (Path, Digg, Apple) and engineer Nikhil Bhogal (Path, Apple), they’re calling June “the computer-based oven that thinks like a chef.” And this “intelligent” oven — which is the size and shape of those old-school microwave countertop ovens — will only set you back about $1,500.
“June Intelligent Oven is designed to deliver unprecedented oven performance for baking, roasting, broiling, toasting, and slow cooking,” states the site. “June fits easily on your countertop, yet boasts a large 1.0 cubic foot capacity. So you can use it for everything from making elaborate roasts to baking a 12-inch pizza.”
Fair enough. After watching the video and seeing how easy it is, you’ll be amazed. June not only recognizes what you’re cooking, it automatically adjusts temperatures throughout the cycle and syncs to other devices so you can keep an eye on your meal via an HD camera. The system also comes with meal recommendations, and apparently there will be a social aspect to it as the videos states, “the more June users, the better it gets.” A $95 deposit will hold your June oven, set for delivery in the spring of 2016.
Improving the cooking process with automation is becoming an interesting field to watch. In April, we reported on Meld, technology that will automatically adjust dials on stoves to ensure food is cooking at the right temperature. Meld is the creation of veterans from Amazon, Pinterest and RichRelevance.
“The knobs, which work with existing oven ranges, are controlled by a temperature-sensing clip that sits in boiling water, oil, or any liquid in a pot on the stove,” we reported. “The clip, meanwhile, communicates with a recipe app — when a user starts cooking something, the app tells the clip to reach a specific temperature and the knobs then turn automatically.”
Meld ran a Kickstarter campaign to bring its idea to market, and in May it was successfully funded with almost $210,000 by 1,550 backers. The beauty of Meld is that it is a fairly simple system that will work with any stove. The knob and clip will sell for about $150 and should be available by this fall, according to Meld’s site.
Now, watch the promo videos below for June and Meld. Soon everyone will be cooking like a Top Chef:
