By 2020, professional kitchens, restaurants and other large food providers will be using appliances with sensors and scanners. They will track inventory and provide real-time ordering linked to pricing. Sensors and cameras will be embedded in ovens, refrigerators and even pans and will do things such as track temperatures and ensure food isn’t overcooked or spoiled.
This “connected kitchen,” as Gartner imagines and defines it, will contribute in five years at least 15% in savings in the food and beverage industry.
Building a connected kitchen, and all the other things the Internet of Things (IoT) is promising to deliver, will take a lot of development work. There are signs that this development is beginning to happen.
Evans Data Corp., which provides research and intelligence for the software development industry, said that of the estimated 19 million developers worldwide, 19% are now doing IoT-related work. A year ago, the first year IoT-specific data was collected, that figure was 17%.
But when developers were asked whether they plan to work in IoT development over the next year, 44% of the respondents said they are planning to do so, said Michael Rasalan, director of research at Evans.
The fact that a large percentage of developers are signaling their intention to be involved in IoT “shows that developers are really excited about it,” said Rasalan.