Homework 4B

Hadiqa Zafar, Marwan Madi, Terry Charnichart

Background: With AI, a pitmaster can establish a system that lessens the arduousness of barbecuing. AI and the pitmaster can work together to keep a constant temperature in the firebox, allowing the meats to never overcook. AI can inform the pitmaster of the airflow, quality, and any necessary adjustments instead of having a pitmaster constantly check at all times of the day.

User Frame

Business Frame

Problem Frame

Problem statement- Allow pitmasters to cut down on waste, while streamlining the barbecue process for home chefs.

Research objective:

Primary research- understand needs and desires of potential users from an autonomous grilling machine.

1. Research participants: restaurant owners, grill chefs, people that cook in families or for themselves, caterers.
2. Research format: surveys and interviews that do not limit the scope of the potential product, utilizing open-ended and non-leading questions.

Secondary research

1. Gain knowledge on interviewees.
2. Gain knowledge on the cultural implications of automated food production.
3. Gain knowledge on existing grills, skills required of grill chefs, and existing cooking technology and its limitations.
4. Acquiring information from watching videos, researching pre-existing consumer and industrial products, understanding spatial limits for grilling space in homes and restaurants.

“Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.” -Anthony Bourdain