This smart oven knows what it’s cooking with new AI food recognition upgrade

GE Appliances is making its range of smart wall ovens even smarter, with this new AI-powered food recognition upgrade. Its new Cookcam AI feature identifies what food is inside the oven to help you get the best cooking results every time.

Almost everything is getting the ‘smart’ treatment nowadays, particularly your kitchen appliances. Part of its best oven range, GE Appliances has already given its wall ovens smart features, including built-in Wi-Fi and compatibility with its SmartHQ app. With the app, users can connect and control their oven, and receive real-time feedback and alerts straight to their smartphone.

Taking this one step further, GE Appliances has developed Cookcam AI, a clever AI feature that means you’ll never have to hover around your oven or sneak a peek through the oven door again. This upgrade is being introduced to owners of select GE Profile and Café wall ovens with in-oven cameras, thanks to a free over-the-air software upgrade.

How it works is once you place a tray of food into your oven and close the door, the in-oven’s camera will take pictures of your food. From there, the Cookcam AI detects and identifies what’s inside the oven. After a few seconds of analysis, the Cookcam AI will recommend a Precision Cooking Mode, which will show up on the oven’s LCD touchscreen.

If you’ve ever worried about how long you need to cook something or what temperature will ensure your food is properly cooked through, this feature is going to be a game changer. After Cookcam AI suggests the right temperature, timings and cooking function, all you need to do is tap the screen for the cooking process to start. The oven will also track your foods’ progress and make changes if it needs to, which you’ll be alerted to via the SmartHQ app.

As Cookcam AI is still being developed, it’ll only be available for five food items that are typically cooked in the oven, like pizza, turkey, cakes, cookies and brownies. The feature is expected to expand in the future, although there’s no set date of when or if this will happen.

As smart technology continues to take over the kitchen, this AI functionality might become the norm. More and more appliances, including barbecues, are getting food recognition features or app connectivity to help cooks keep up-to-date with their food, without having to constantly be in the kitchen or over the grill.

The Cookcam AI feature is expected to be available by the end of March on select GE Profile and Café single and dual wall ovens.