A robot in the kitchen

　　Matt Mason has seen the future-and it's fun. As director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Mason likes thinking about how machines can make our lives easier by taking over the tasks we hate, like mopping, scrubbing and cleaning. When it comes to the kitchen, he's confident that within just a few decades, robots will ruledoing most of the burdensome work and freeing us to sit back and relax. "Right now we think of the kitchen as a place for chores," says Mason."But maybe we're in the process of discovering it as a place we can enjoy."
So unless you really, really love to clean, you won't have to. The revolution has already begun. Recently, iRobot, the company that gave us the Roomba vacuum, unveiled Scooba-a robot that vacuums, wetscrubs and dries floors all at once. The robotic floor cleaners of the future could take many different forms, explains Dan Kara, president of Robotics Trends, which tracks developments in automation. He envisions a floor-cleaning system that's built into the wall and blows debris to a part of the room where it's sucked up by a vacuum. Then the system sprays the floor with a soapy solution, and it's mopped up by an arm with a sponge attached. "This is sheer speculation, of course," Kara admits, "but you could program it to come on at 3 a.m., and it would just wet mop the floor for you."
　　More than just fun, future kitchens will be environmentally friendly. Bruce Beihoff, director of Corporate Innovation and Technology at Whirl-pool, foresees appliance systems that recycle the energy lost from your oven to heat the kitchen, your water, even the entire home."We have things like this running in our labs today," he says. Even your sink water could be reused, sanitized and recycled through a filter. And a green kitchen means more green in your pocket.
New culinary technologies will help you go from Chef Boring to Chef Brilliant. The best cooks know that an evenly heated skillet is crucial to the perfect sauté. Enter the "pow dered bed," an experimental stovetop that's been designed by Whirlpool. Using microwave-heated ceramic chips instead of standard gas flame or electric coil, the system heats pans with near-perfect balance and lets you control the heat level with incredible precision. "It gives you extremely even heating," says Whirlpool's Beihoff,"maybe 10 or 20 times better than the best pan you can buy today." Researchers at Whirlpool are also experimenting with an oven that will let you roast a skinless chicken to crispy perfection. "You'd still get the beautiful aesthetics in taste and appearance," says Beihoff, "but you'd be able to cut way back on fats."
　　Paul Leuthe, corporate marketing manager for Wolf Appliance Company, says induction burners will be de rigueur. They use a magnetic field to heat up pans, bring water to a boil in half the time it takes now, and allow for slow cooking.

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　　厨房里的机器人

　　艾特•梅森已经看到了令人向往的未来， 作为卡耐基•梅隆大学的机器人学会的主任，梅森喜欢思考如何用机器来替我们做那些我们所憎恨的家务，比如拖地、洗刷、清洁等。一谈到厨房，他确信在几十年内，机器人将替我们做大多数繁重的工作而我们将得到解放。梅森说：现在我们认为厨房是一个充满家务杂事的地方，但是我们或许正在逐渐发现那里其实是一个可以得到快乐的地方。
　　所以，除非你真的喜欢做清洁，那么你将可以不做。革命已经开始，曾经给我们提供了Roomba吸尘器的公司，iRobot近来推出了一款新的机器人，它可以几乎同时吸尘、湿洗并擦干地板。将来地板清洗机器人将沿着自动化方向以多种形式出现，机器人发展协会主席丹•喀拉这样解释。他设想一个建在墙里面的地板清洁系统先将碎片吹到房间里的一个设置了吸尘器的角落里随后用吸尘器吸走，然后这个系统在地板上喷上一层肥皂溶液并用一个装了海绵的臂拖洗地板。当然，这纯粹是一个设想，喀拉承认，但是你可以设定让它在下午三点开始，它就会为你湿洗地板。
　　除了有趣以外，将来的厨房将更环保。Whirl-BRool的技术创新公司主管，布鲁斯•贝豪夫预见将来的器具系统将循环利用烤箱里损失的热能来为你的厨房用水甚至整个家供暖。现在我们已经在实验室尝试着这样做，他说到。甚至你下水道的水也可以通过过滤器净化回收再利用。绿色环保的厨房意味着你的开销更少。
　　新的厨具技术将帮助你从一位烦恼的厨师变成一位才华横溢的厨师。最好的厨师知道要做一道精美的小炒，均匀地加热是很关键的。来看一下BRowdered bed，它是由WhirlBRool设计正在试验的一款炉子。取代通常用的天然气火苗或者电炉丝而用微波来加热陶瓷片，这个系统近乎完美地均衡加热平底锅并且使我们能以难以置信的精确度来控制加热水平。它提供了非常均衡的加热， WhirlBRool的贝豪夫说，或许它比你现在所能买到的平底锅要好上10倍或者20倍。同时 WhirlBRool的研究者们也正在试验一种能使你将去皮的鸡烤到完美的焦酥状。你还能做到色香味俱全，贝豪夫说，但是你可能要考虑减肥了。
　　保罗•Leuthe，Wolf器具公司市场部经理，称感应炉是非常需要的。他们用磁场加热锅，使得水沸腾的时间比现在要少一半，当然也可以慢火做饭。