First thing to do was research cookers. Went to John Lewis’ floor and looked at what was on how. Cookers (gas and electric), microwave ovens, fridges and freezers. All gas cookers work with nobs or a knob lever. Electric cookers and ovens have dials, buttons or both. Problem: to create a GUI for the gas cooker, an appliance that traditionally uses a SUI. I think there’s nothing wrong with the way cookers work now apart from the fact that:
1. you can’t always see the flame with a pot over it;
2. liquid boils over and puts out the flame but keeps the gas flowing;
3. absolute control of the flame with the knob is impossible;
4. some knobs go clockwise, others anti-clockwise; and
5. no matter how many times you use it you can never remember which knob operates which griddle.
The group brainstorming session brought up loads of ideas and as a result some people ended up going in the same direction as me (or maybe I went in the same direction as them)!
One idea was the cooker would recognise wherever the pot/kettle/pan was and light that spot. Had an idea of strings (or some type of heat resistant fibre lattice) above the cooker surface with sensors that read the position and fed back that position to the user interface. Tiny gas outlets beneath the lattice would ignite and heat the utensil.
Another idea was to have the pans come with the cooker. They could be replaced, renewed or more ordered directly from the manufacturer at minimal cost. These pans would ‘talk’ to the cooker, sending back information on the temperatures of the pan or its contents.
I remembered my mother’s cooker had a gun attachment but I couldn’t remember if that was a pilot lighter with a flame. Had to be that. What else could it be? Maybe a water supply, like the ones you get in pubs, but this one would have cold water or hot water at a touch of a button. Maybe another gun with oil. Or maybe the gun did both oil and water. But, it was wisely noted, that water could be plumbed in, whereas oil would have to be replaced. Too much trouble unless you buy your oil by the truckload. But I think the most important thing is the interface. I wanted to keep it very simple. All the graphics had to be self explanatory or, if not, feedback from a touch would inform the user of an event. I also tried to make each icon or button unique so each item could only do one thing and there would be no confusion between them.
I recognise an error in the design. The microwave icon is identical to the grill heat level and the grill shelf.
2. liquid boils over and puts out the flame but keeps the gas flowing;
3. absolute control of the flame with the knob is impossible;
4. some knobs go clockwise, others anti-clockwise; and
5. no matter how many times you use it you can never remember which knob operates which griddle.
The group brainstorming session brought up loads of ideas and as a result some people ended up going in the same direction as me (or maybe I went in the same direction as them)!
One idea was the cooker would recognise wherever the pot/kettle/pan was and light that spot. Had an idea of strings (or some type of heat resistant fibre lattice) above the cooker surface with sensors that read the position and fed back that position to the user interface. Tiny gas outlets beneath the lattice would ignite and heat the utensil.
Another idea was to have the pans come with the cooker. They could be replaced, renewed or more ordered directly from the manufacturer at minimal cost. These pans would ‘talk’ to the cooker, sending back information on the temperatures of the pan or its contents.
I remembered my mother’s cooker had a gun attachment but I couldn’t remember if that was a pilot lighter with a flame. Had to be that. What else could it be? Maybe a water supply, like the ones you get in pubs, but this one would have cold water or hot water at a touch of a button. Maybe another gun with oil. Or maybe the gun did both oil and water. But, it was wisely noted, that water could be plumbed in, whereas oil would have to be replaced. Too much trouble unless you buy your oil by the truckload. But I think the most important thing is the interface. I wanted to keep it very simple. All the graphics had to be self explanatory or, if not, feedback from a touch would inform the user of an event. I also tried to make each icon or button unique so each item could only do one thing and there would be no confusion between them.
I recognise an error in the design. The microwave icon is identical to the grill heat level and the grill shelf.
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