Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2013, as tech news about Nathan Broadbent’s Raspberry Pi microwave hack. Internet-connected, voice-controlled appliances have since become common.
Developer Nathan Broadbent has “hacked”, or technologically souped up, a microwave in a way that at first glance we might consider a bit too geeky. Then again, if we look at the microwaves we have at home, they’re appliances where we put the food in, turn the dial to set the time, and when it’s done we hear a beep telling us we can take out whatever we put in to heat.
Over at TechCrunch they wonder what would happen if, thanks to such a geeky invention, many manufacturers of this product could get ahead of their competitors. Could this be the microwave of the future? Let’s look at what this microwave does and how it works in the video below, and then you can decide whether you find it useful or just a silly gimmick.
The microwave is connected to the internet, so the various apps it uses can be updated. It has voice control: all you have to say is “Microwave, heat for 30 seconds!” and as soon as it hears those words it starts working.
Watch: the Raspberry Pi microwave in action (YouTube)
We can also build a database of the products we heat so we don’t have to guess the heating time later on. For this it comes with a barcode reader. Once we’ve updated a barcode, the next time we just scan it and the microwave already knows how long to heat, with no programming needed.
It can be used from your smartphone or iPad. In other words, you can leave your food inside the microwave and start it from your living room.
Nathan Broadbent thinks the microwave beep is for fools, so you can set a custom sound, from a simple tone to the Macarena.
And for those who love sharing on Twitter what they’re about to eat, I believe the microwave can also send a tweet when it finishes heating.
Further reading
Featured image: Jwrodgers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
