An Electrolux Design Lab 2011 finalist, the Mobile Induction Heat Plate 902 concept by Finnish design Tommi Moilanen responds to the growing culture of mobile gadgetry that allows users to use technology that was previously available only as fixed installations (like televisions, computers, etc.) on the go. Since users today are accustomed to carrying around smartphones that allow them to control every other gadget and equipment that they use via apps connected to the web, the smart induction cooker design from the Aalto University School of Art and Design student presents the possibility of users being able to integrate their home appliances more seamlessly with their lifestyle via something similar to cloud connectivity.
The Mobile Induction Heat Plate 902 looks to bring the same ease of use that users currently get with their app-filled smartphones to home appliances that still have to be used the old push-button way. The concept also looks to allow users to make use of a new way of cooking that breaks away from the old idea of cooking on standard hot plates that take up space in our kitchens even when they are not being used. Created to suit smaller kitchen, the smart induction hot plate looks to serve as an alternative to the fixed hot plates generally found in kitchen and looks to provide a compact solution for people living in smaller apartments as well as those on the move.
Using the simplicity and purity of the iPhone’s form, the Alvar Aalto’s 900 and 901 tea trolleys (that are currently manufactured by Artek, a Finnish design company), and the brand identity of electronics giants Electrolux, the theme of intelligent mobility was brought to life with the Mobile Induction Heat Plate 902. To bring the user experience in cooking to the next level, the mobility of cordless technology would be combined with the intelligence of modern smartphones and the 902 would thus serve as a flexible way of cooking for a generation that does not glamorize or condone slaving away in the kitchen and want to adapt cooking to their own lifestyle and schedule.
Though the design has not specified how the Mobile Induction Heat Plate would work, he does say that the concept would be easy to carry, compact, and fully smartphone-compatible and would be offered with a special app that would allow users to control its functions remotely, make it child-safe, and even set its own cooking time by reading NFC-tags on intelligent food packaging. The battery operated Mobile Induction Heat Plate 902 would be deigned with a wooden handle while the induction plate would be fashioned in a glossy black and white design to give it a high-tech look.