Camera Stand and AI Recipe Generation from Cooking Surface Images
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of mobile devices in the kitchen environment is suboptimal, lacking tools that automate and enhance processes such as capturing images and videos of cooking, producing ingredient lists, and recording cooking operations for recipe documentation.
Innovation Solution
A stand equipped with a camera mount and AI software that analyzes images to identify ingredients and cooking operations, generating a recipe, and a mobile device holder that allows hands-free interaction and access to applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a mobile device is used to capture images and generate recipes during cooking, then recipe documentation is automated and improved, but the device requires hands-free operation and stable positioning which complicates the setup
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the mobile device into separate functional components: a camera module for image capture, a processing unit for recipe generation, and a display interface. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall setup by allowing modular assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that receives images from the mobile device camera, analyzes them to identify ingredients and cooking operations, and generates the recipe documentation. This intermediary layer automates the complex tasks while keeping the mobile device setup simple.
2Measurement precision
If the camera is positioned vertically above the cooking surface to capture all ingredients and operations, then complete recipe documentation is achieved, but the camera requires precise positioning and adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system is designed with multi-functional positioning capabilities that allow it to serve multiple purposes: capturing overhead views of the cooking surface, recording ingredients from various angles, and documenting cooking operations. This universal positioning mechanism reduces the need for multiple specialized cameras and complex adjustment systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera positioning system incorporates dynamic adjustment mechanisms that allow real-time modification of camera angles and positions during the cooking process. This enables the system to adapt to different cooking scenarios and maintain complete documentation without requiring a fixed, overly complex positioning structure.
3Loss of information
If the camera continuously captures images during cooking to document all operations, then complete recipe information is recorded, but the device generates heat and requires ventilation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a thermal intermediary system including heat sinks and ventilation channels that act as a buffer between the continuously operating camera and the surrounding environment. This intermediary thermal management system allows the camera to operate continuously for complete recipe documentation while dissipating heat effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera operation is structured with periodic capture intervals rather than continuous recording, allowing brief pauses between image sequences to reduce heat accumulation. This periodic operation maintains sufficient recipe information capture while managing thermal load through natural cooling periods.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for recipe generation includes providing a stand (24, 50), which is configured to hold a camera (30) in a location above or alongside a cooking surface (32), whereby the camera is positioned to capture images of the cooking surface. Image data from images of the cooking surface captured by the camera that is held in the stand during preparation of food on the cooking surface are analyzed by a computer (44) to identify a set of ingredients (36) and a sequence of cooking operations using the ingredients in the preparation of the food. The computer outputs a recipe comprising multiple steps and identifying the ingredients and cooking operations applied in each step.