This year IKEA commissioned a study by The Future Laboratory, a UK-based think tank that prides itself for “its innovative approach to trend forecasting, consumer insight and brand strategy”, to come up with various visions of how kitchens will function in the year 2040.  “In thirty years time, the kitchen will be so technologically advanced that it will almost be alive” claims the study.  One possible future kitchen scenario is dubbed “INTUITIV”:

As you walk into the INTUITIV kitchen of the future, LED light projections adjust to your mood – it will know if you have a hangover via sensors that will read your brainwaves. Aromatherapy infused walls will be synced to your calendar, calming you before a big meeting or energising you before a gym session. The fridge will have selected some breakfast options, identifying the essential vitamins for your day via sensors. When you get home, a hologrammed chef will be on hand for recipe inspiration.

Two others are the ELEMENTARA (the “back to nature kitchen”) and the SKARPP (the “smart kitchen”):

The ELEMENTARA kitchen will encourage you to grow your own food and be self-sufficient with a garden or mini allotment as a standard extension of the room. Food will be kept cool through cold larders and recycling facilities will be seamlessly incorporated into the kitchen.

[The SKARPP] kitchen will be intelligent, predicting its inhabitants’ needs with smart technology. Synchronized appliances will make everything happen at the touch of a button, communicating through iPad style devices which will act as the brain of the kitchen, making our lives easier.

In essense, the study finds that our kitchens of the future will “respond to your energy levels, nutritional needs and mood, even with a high use of technology, it will also be sustainable and eco-friendly.”  Celebrity chef holograms, 3D food printing, sixth generation iPads.  Most of this tech is being developed today; I say we speed up the process and make all this a reality within the next ten years!  Who’s with me?  Official PR is after the break.

[Via Engadget] Continue reading IKEA’s kitchen of the future gets conceptualized →