Successful interfaces have often been the result of powerful metaphors. By likening an unfamiliar context to one we are more familiar and experienced with, it becomes relatable and easier to navigate. With its wealth of sensory stimuli, the kitchen space offers enormous opportunities for the creation of such metaphors. At the same time, the act of cooking is riddled with sensory “black boxes ”: Moments in which little to no information is available to the senses. In the kitchen, those are often caused by literal boxes: Ovens, microwaves, fridges, etc. Whenever these moments occur, the cooking process moves beyond sensory reach. Being deprived of any direct means of probing food throughout the process presents a significant challenge: Clues that would otherwise inform decisions and provide reassurance are no longer intuitively available. The lack of tangible, practical information is a core challenge for the development of future kitchen appliances. This thesis explores multimodality as a tool to resolve the difficulties users are currently experiencing. Multimodal interactions describe interactions that make use of multiple senses at once. By investigating the roles different senses play in human perception, this project builds a repertoire of engaging communication tools. Various techniques are developed to frame information in multisensory ways. By tailoring these techniques to their context of use, they can elicit experiences that are situationally relevant and enjoyable to the user. Using the findings of the multimodal explorations, this thesis developed a concept using haptic, spatial, and visual modalities. The interface of an oven was altered to guide users towards helpful and relevant information. This was done by including a multimodal dial into an oven's display unit. The dial uses its repertoire to expose information on ongoing processes that would typically be out of reach to users . By modulating its stiffness and texture it can, for example, tangibly inform users about the cooking progress. This three-dimensional, dynamic exploration of evolving processes helped users understand their choices and increased their confidence and enjoyment throughout the experience. For a luxury kitchen manufacturer such as Gaggenau developing interfaces that bridge the gap between the sensory, physical world and the digital future of technology is of great importance. This thesis hopefully contributes insights that will help Gaggenau shape the future of the kitchen.

Digital technology is conquering private homes and changes the way people interact with products and services. Today already, devices provide intelligent support for daily tasks, by making homes automated and context-aware. This inexorable trend is projected to further reshape the nature of consumer goods. However, several threats come along with blindly implementing digital technology. Meaningful human-product interactions can get diluted, or even lost, by the ongoing automation of the kitchen. Especially, highly emotional luxury brands like German kitchen appliance manufacturer Gaggenau, rely on the physical qualities of their products. This dilemma makes the brand hesitate when it comes to the implementation of digital technologies, facing the thread of their products becoming obsolete on a market driven by digitalization. A crucial task for the brand’s future development is to find the balance between support and automation while preserving their user-centered brand values. While analyzing the target group it was found crucial to understand their process of cooking, in order to identify novel opportunity spaces.
An essential insight derived by analyzing the relationships of a product and its surrounding environment. Supportive countertop devices take a big amount of space. When managing bulky kitchen machines, the user has to restore the device after every use or leaving it on the countertop permanently. Additionally, every machine comes with its own, heavy motor block which is doing essentially the same thing - providing motion. The design principle was formulated, describing the idea of an universal motion port, submerged in the countertop surface of a kitchen. The seamlessly integrated hub provides motion and heat via an electromagnetic field, powering various modules placed on top of the counter.
Exploring the principle, became the focus of the project and a blender module was chosen as an example module. During the embodiment of the product, several ideas were tested to transfer a rotary momentum through a solid surface. The principle of an axial flux motor was sensed promising and got prototyped and tested by many iterations. A more elaborated prototype from machined parts was made, proofing the concept idea as valid. Due to the successful implementation of the axial flux motor principle an ultra slim motion port was achieved. To further enrich the product experience, a haptic input controller was designed. This completely detachable magnetic dial works with a digital user interface shining through the counter surface.
The final design of the blender module was strongly guided by the three design attributes - light, pure and effortless. The semi-transparent glass object can lock in on the submerged motion port on a perfectly unbroken surface. While processing food, the cook can perceive the color of the produce, even through the lid. The frosted glass finish combined with the light and pure appearance of the product, makes the device harmonize with its surrounding. Finally, The Gaggenau Sous Chef, was designed to be unobtrusively accessible to the user and to allow a flexible operation of modules by an universal motion port.