DOWNEY, CALIF. – Smart appliances will no longer be limited to indoor applications if Lynx Grills has its way.
The luxury outdoor cooking company, based here, has developed a voice-activated smart grill that automatically cooks food in response to users’ commands.
Still in the prototype stage, Lynx’s Concept Grill incorporates a “My Chef” interactive voice recognition interface that allows users to control and customize functions.
The cooking process begins with a couple of simple questions from the grill about what foods are to be cooked. It then connects to an online database of recipes to determine optimal grilling times and cooking techniques, and even advises the user where to place each item on the grill to ensure optimal results.
The fly-by-wire system automatically operates primary functions like ignition and burners, and notifies users via audio, visual and text alerts. As an added safety feature, the smart grill will shut off it no instructions are received for 30 minutes.
Lynx has also developed a smart grill mobile app to monitor cooking times and temperatures, and learning modules that allow users to modify or update the preprogrammed recipes.
Lynx CEO Jim Buch acknowledged that “grilling is a challenge, where timing and temperature are critical and a little direction and extra care can be the difference between a grand meal and big disappointment.”
The Concept Grill, he said, “eliminates the guesswork” and will make his customers “overnight experts.”
The company said it hopes to introduce a production model sometime next year. The smart grill will likely retail at “a slight premium” over Lynx’s standard luxury models, although the goal is to keep prices “well within the window of affordability for our customers,” the manufacturer said.
The Concept model, like all Lynx grills, is expected to feature seamless heli-arc welding, an easy-lift hood, variable infrared burner, blue LED-illuminated front knobs and bright internal halogen lights.
“Our customers are the most discerning in the world,” Buch noted. “We’ve built a strong business by crafting the best grills on the planet and meeting our customers’ needs down to the smallest detail.”
He added that the Concept Grill’s smart technology “embodies our pursuit of cooking perfection and a commitment to elite living.”
