Ikea creates ‘A Table for Living’ prototype that recognises food, suggests recipes

Swedish furniture retailer Ikea collaborated with design firm Ideo to create an interactive conceptual kitchen of the future. Ikea worked with the design firm and students from the Ingvar Kamprad Design Centre at Lund University and the Industrial Design department at Eindhoven University of Technology over a period of 18 months, exploring how kitchens will look in the next decade.

The end result of the collaboration is what’s called ‘Concept Kitchen 2025’ on display in Milan and includes an interactive kitchen table. Titled ‘A Table for Living’, the prototype recognises food placed on it and offers suggestions on flavour pairings and recipes. Other features include a built-in hob so users can cook by placing a pan directly onto the table.

According to Ikea, the concept acts as “a preparation surface, hob, dining table, work bench and children’s play area,” using technology to “make consumers more confident cooks, while letting less food go to waste.” While this table is concept piece and not for sale, it is an interesting look at how technology could be integrated into home and furniture retail to improve user experience in the future.