Background

A kitchen is a room in a house with appliances for cooking, a sink with running water for washing food and dishes, a refrigerator and pantry for food storage, and a plethora of pots and pans, cutlery and crockery, kitchen utensils, instruments, and gadgets to assist the cook. A kitchen device is a useful instrument, gadget, or machine for the kitchen. An electronic kitchen device is one that is controlled by electronic circuitry or microcontroller boards. Kitchen devices can assist the cook with any function in the kitchen, such as the storage of food, food preparation, cooking, the disposal of waste, and the cleaning and maintenance of the kitchen.
A smart electronic device is a useful instrument, machine, or gadget that is controlled by electronic circuitry microcontroller boards, or sometimes by a single-board computer like a Raspberry Pi, and that perform only a few limited functions. We have many different kinds of devices at home, on our person, or at school to perform useful work for us, or to provide us with information, in order to increase our well-being.
 

The design brief

Design a useful electronic kitchen device for your home using simple electronic circuitry, or a microcontroller board like the Arduino. The kitchen device may assist the cook in the storage, preparation, or cooking of food; or it may provide the cook with useful information. The device may be portable or fixed. Construct a working prototype of your electronic kitchen device and test it. Work on this project in a small team with a group of your classmates.

​​​​​The design thinking process

Follow the six stages of the design thinking process to ensure that you are thorough and do everything necessary to succeed in your design project. First, you endeavour to understand the design topic and EMPATHISE with the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DEFINE what is essential to the product or system that you are designing. Then you IDEATE, that is, you creatively come up with ideas and develop them. The next step is to PROTOTYPE your chosen design solution in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Then you TEST your design idea to elicit the opinions of users. And finally, at the end of the process, you REFLECT upon your project to benefit from the experience. Use the appropriate methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you proceed along the design thinking process.
 

Note for teachers

Undertaking a student design project using electrical parts or microcontrollers such as Arduino requires:

• teachers who are able to supervise and advise such a project;
• laboratories or workshops with electrical and electronic parts and tools;
• ​​​​​​​and students who are trained to work with electricity, tools, and equipment.

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Health and safety in the kitchen

​​​​​​​The kitchen has many hazards, there are: hot surfaces, harmful substances, sharp implements, electrical and gas equipment, and the risk of contaminated food. Students undertaking a design project for the kitchen must be supervised by an adult whenever they are in the kitchen. Make the students aware of the hazards by studying the national or regional health and safety guidelines that apply to the kitchen.