SOUS
Your new cooking assistant.
TEAM
Drew Asselin
Chloe Clark
Natalie Zauhar
MY ROLE
Lead UX Researcher
Product Direction
Supporting Video Editor
Project Overview
How might we help people cook more often? This broad research question challenged us to uncover new insights and led to us to design a brand new cooking assistant for the kitchen.
Over three months, we conducted 4 stages of research to identify our target demographic (college students who cook less than 3x a week) and deeply understand their pain points.
⟶ Literature Review 8
⟶ Comparator Analysis 8
⟶ Signal Survey 245
⟶ Expert Interviews 2
⟶ In-home Observations/Co-design 6
Formative Insights
Users hated getting their devices dirty while cooking and were often frustrated when trying to follow instructions.
Participants relied on their phones and laptops to help them cook throughout but hated touching their devices while cooking. Since both beginner and intermediate level cooks needed assistance with technical skills and guidance throughout the cooking process, they would search the internet and Youtube for help.
However, they still felt lost or confused if their initial attempts did not meet their needs.
To further complicate matters, users made frequent substitutions to their recipes while cooking, which caused more friction between devices, and decreased confidence in their cooking.
When we evaluated other existing solutions, we found they assumed users had more advanced technical expertise, and voice assistants lacked the context required to give helpful feedback about their cooking progress.
Specific Needs
“It would be nice if the voice assistant could answer questions like, how much salt do I need or other such specific questions.”
– Google Assistant User
Interface Friction
“I get frustrated looking at a recipe on my technology, cooking and getting my hands dirty, and not being able to look at the recipe again without touching my tech.”
– Survey Participant 82
Worrisome Substitutions
“I dislike being nervous about substituting ingredients.”
– Survey Participant 201
Information Seeking Behavior: User Journey
We focused on helping users during the preparation & cooking phases.
Sous is a context-aware, multimodal cooking assistant for personalized guidance throughout.
How It Works
Sous’s camera is a peripheral device used to “see” the current cooking environment and relay that information back to a cloud service for processing and delivery of feedback to the user via a connected device.
To leverage the visual aiding benefits of digital screens, an app on the connected phone or tablet will display information about the stove or prep environment and use the information in order to guide a user in recipe steps, skills, and techniques.
Start Recipe Screen
Users can adjust how they would like to interact with Sous.
Original Concept Illustration Sous uses computer vision to give feedback on cooking progress.
Final Concept Illustration
Sous lights up when interacting with users to let users know when it is listening (privacy concerns) and to indicate warnings.
Product Features
Multimodal Interface
Hands-free Cooking is messy. Sous provides the option for traditional smartphone interaction, voice-only controls, or a combination.
Real-time Assistance
Real-time Guidance Sous detects opportunities for technique correction or safety concerns using image recognition and alerts the user. Guidance is customizable based on the user’s preferences.
Context-aware Feedback Sous parses complex questions and provides feedback and suggestions based on what it sees.
Progress-based Instructions Sous uses computer vision to track and guide your progress. Whether you ask Sous for the next step or look at your phone, both will be in sync.
Recipe Help
Recipe Integration Users can easily store their favorite recipes on the Sous App by using the device’s native share functionality. Users can also receive guidance on multiple recipes at one time. (For example, a main dish and a side dish.)
Intelligent, On-demand Substitutions Don’t have what you need? Sous helps finds substitute ingredients that fit the dish’s flavor profile and your preferences.
Recommendations Based on Preferences & Habits Overtime, Sous will get to know its users and make recommendations for new recipes to try based on their skill level, preferences, and cooking habits.
Demo Video
Credits
Illustrations, prototype, & video production by the talented UXR and illustrator, Chloe Clark
Mobile app design & development plan by the skillful UXE and gamer, Drew Asselin