The familiar microwave dilemma: 30 seconds, and the soup is cold. Another 30 seconds, and it's still cold. 30 seconds more, and you've burned yourself alive. The microwave is wonderful, but it hasn't adopted any advanced technology in recent decades. Heat Map Microwave is an initiative that aims to gather support and measure interest in a microwave with built-in thermal vision, letting us easily check whether our food and drinks are hot.
The Microwave Hasn't Changed Much
Some people can't imagine life without certain accessories. In my case, one of those things is the microwave oven. Since its humble arrival in a simple cardboard box, it has responded with determination to every challenge I've thrown at it, including spontaneous noodle dishes at four in the morning, significant quantities of burgers, and the vital cup of tea in winter. I feel indebted to its original inventor Percy Spencer, and to the people at Raytheon who saw its commercial potential. However, if we study previous microwave models, we'll see that they have not changed in any significant way. Some companies incorporated convection systems and infrared lights to speed up the cooking process, but nothing more. The adoption of digital controls was as natural as in other devices, and from a certain point of view it seems to have remained frozen in time compared to other kitchen accessories.
The Heat Map Microwave Concept
Mark Rober proposes updating the microwave with his initiative Heat Map Microwave. Actually, he's not planning any radical redesign, but rather adding a piece of technology that has improved and dropped significantly in price in recent years: thermal vision. A camera placed on top or on the sides of the microwave should be enough to generate an accurate visual report of what we're heating. The microwave door could also include an LCD screen showing the camera's feedback, and as an alternative, Rober has also thought about sending the camera signal and microwave controls to a mobile device, turning our smartphone into a kind of remote control.
Heat Map Microwave is just a concept; no crowdfunding campaign has started, nor is Rober asking for money. All he wants is to gather interested people, spread his video as far as possible, and demonstrate that there is a legitimate demand for a microwave with these features. So far it has just over 35,000 signatures, perhaps insufficient if you want to create a product from scratch, but we must admit it's not a bad idea. Is anyone else ready to turn their microwave into the Predator? Because I am.
