Italian design studio Tipic has created a smart kitchen countertop that integrates various interactive functions including a scale, induction cooking and a sink that appears out of the surface with a simple gesture.
Unveiled at Eurocucina in April 2016, the bi-annual kitchen event at the Salone del Mobile furniture show in Milan, Tipic’s Tuler kitchen features a kitchen counter made from a granite composite that has a number of technologies built into the stone.
Conceived as a laboratory-like work bench, the counter includes a sink with a base that sits flush with the top when not in use to make it seem like part of the surface.
A motion sensor is embedded under the surface of the stone, and is activated by waving a hand over it. This triggers the base to lower via a piston mechanism and the tap to activate automatically. Further gestures can be used to control the temperature and flow of the water.
“We thought about a basin that could be flat, that you can work on, and then with sensors inside the marble or quartz, with a simple gesture of your hand like magic the top opens and you have a sink,” said Tipic co-founder Tommaso Corà .
“So you have not to touch anything, it’s very clean, it’s very natural, and it’s something a bit new but with existing technology.”
Also embedded into the worktop is a kitchen scale that uses pressure sensors to weigh ingredients. This is visible as an area of the stone surface with a ring of light around it – the light turns blue and then red in increments to show weights of up to two kilos.
The designers hope to connect this device to a recipe app in later versions, to replicate ingredient measurements to the gram.
A smaller circle indicates a wireless charging station for a phone or iPad.
Tipic said the design could be a glimpse of the future of the kitchen, although most kitchen brands were not willing to invest in the “risk of researching something new”.
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