LG patent reveals AI-powered range hood that can capture the cooking process

The document hints at an upgraded range hood that many food bloggers who share cooking-related content could benefit from.

With more industries deciding to equip their devices with AI, LG’s recently released patent suggests that this trend might also be coming to the kitchen appliance market.

Smart kitchen appliances aren’t exactly a novelty, but the patent introduces an idea that should be much appreciated by users who create cooking-related content.

In the document “Artificial Intelligence Device and Operating Method Thereof,” LG Electronics explains that while range hoods help with discharging smoke or various smells, they could become even more useful by including a camera that could capture and share pictures and videos of various recipes in the making.

The patent discloses how the invention could work, with a range hood having an installed camera that could capture pictures of the stovetop. A display, found “on the front surface of the main body,” shows the image made by the camera.

Thanks to the installed processor, it can gather image data, which later helps it identify objects such as cooking vessels, cooking utensils, and food. It can also generate a recipe database “based on recipe information collected through an open API.”

Since it's an AI-based appliance, its camera should recognize a cooking zone, cooking appliances, and food, and change the “photographing conditions” according to the recognized setup. The AI range hood should also be able to adjust “audio focus to a cooking zone region recognized as being cooked.”

As with a number of issued patents, this is a niche appliance intended for a certain audience. However, the document doesn’t guarantee that the described invention will ever see the light of day – we wait to see if LG’s recipe can create a meal.