一个 Linux 驱动的微波炉
微波炉
[linux.conf.au](http://linux.conf.au/)里的人们都有一种想到什么就动手去实现的想法。随着硬件开源运动不断地发展壮大，这种想法越来越多，也与现实世界联系的越来越紧密，而不仅仅存在于数字世界中。David Tulloh用他制作的[Linux驱动的微波炉 [WebM]](http://mirror.linux.org.au/linux.conf.au/2016/04_Thursday/D4.303_Costa_Theatre/Linux_driven_microwave.webm)来展示一个差劲的微波炉会多么难用，以及说明他的项目可以改造这些微波炉使得它们不那么讨人厌。


Tulloh的故事要从他买到了一个公认很便宜的微波炉开始说起，它的用户界面比其它微波炉默认的还要糟糕。设定时间时必须使劲按按钮以至于把微波炉都向后推了一段距离——而事实上必须要用力拉仓门把手才能把微波炉拖回原来的位置，这形成了一个“优雅”的平衡。当然这只是极端情况。Tulloh郁闷的是因为这个微波炉近十年来都没有一丁点明显的改善。他可能买到了一个又小又便宜的微波炉，而且特点是大部分人不研究使用手册就不会使用它——和智能手机的对比更加明显：智能手机只需知道一点点的操作指南并且被广泛使用。


改造这个微波炉不一定没有前途，“让微波炉重获新生”——这个想法成为了一个原型，如果Tulloh可以再平衡一下想做的功能和需求之间的关系的话他希望这变成一个众筹项目：一个Linux驱动的微波炉。


![](/data/attachment/album/201606/11/111327szwpbp94ez4xc4e2.jpg)


### 加一点新奇的小玩意


如果把“Linux”和“微波炉”联系在一起的话，你可能会想到给微波炉加上一个智能手机式的触摸屏和网络链接，然后再通过社区做一款微波炉的“革命性”的手机应用，想到这些就像做菜想到分享食谱一样显而易见。但Tulloh的目标和他的原型远远超过这些，他做了两个新奇的功能——热感相机和称量物体质量的称重装置。


这个热感相机提供一个可以精确到两度的八乘八像素的图像，这足够发现一杯牛奶是否加热到沸腾或者牛排是否解冻到快不能用来烹饪。不论发生哪种情况，都可以减小功率或者关掉它。而且在必要的时候会发出警报。这可能不是第一个可以检测温度的微波炉——GE在十年前就开始卖带温度探针的微波炉了——但是一个一直工作的内置传感器比一个手工探针有用多了，尤其是有一个可用的API支持的时候。


第二个新发明是一个嵌入的称重装置，它可以在加热之前称量食物(和容器)。很多食谱根据质量大小给出指导的烹饪时间，很多微波炉支持你手动输入质量以便它帮你计算。利用内置的称重装置，这一过程可以变成自动化的。在许多微波炉的转盘下面稳固地放置一个称重装置是一个机械方面的挑战，不过Tulloh觉得这个问题不难处理。相反，他对微波炉的设计是基于“平板”或者“平板挂车”的风格——在四角各放置一个传感器，这不仅在机械实现上很简单而且很好的达到了要求。


一旦你有了这些额外添加的并与逻辑引擎相连的质量温度传感器，你可以去尝试更多好玩的可能。一杯刚从冰箱里拿出来的冰牛奶的质量温度分布可能会有适度误差。Tulloh发现可以监检测到这种情况，而且提供一些有关的像“煮沸”或者“加热”的选项也是容易做到的（下面有一个模拟的界面，可点击操作的版本请点击右边链接 [here](http://mwgui.tulloh.id.au/)）


![](/data/attachment/album/201606/11/111329uabb3de3eawa1w3d.png)


### 改造陈旧的东西


除了才开发出来的新功能，Tulloh还想要提升那些原本就提供的功能。可能不是所有微波炉的门把手都像Tulloh那个廉价的一样僵硬，但是很少有微波炉将把手设计的让残疾人也能轻松使用。这些缺陷都是可调整的，尤其是在美国，微波炉应该在仓门关闭的时候给出一个确定关闭的提示。这种确认必须是可靠的以预防那些伪劣产品，所以在仓门闭合时固定的槽位里添加一个短杆以确认仓门开闭状态，不至于误使微波炉在仓门开着的时候工作。事实上，必须要有两个相互联系的机关，如果他们提供的结果不一致，保险丝必须断开以便启动一个呼叫服务。Tulloh认为提供一个磁力门闩有更大的灵活性（包含简单的软件控制）并且像磁控也同样用于[磁性钥匙锁](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_keyed_lock)，它可以让磁力门闩确认微波炉门是否关闭。


微波炉的另一个痛点是它会发出令人厌烦的声音。Tulloh去掉了蜂鸣器并且使用香蕉派（类似于树莓派的单片机开发板）控制他的微波炉。这可以通过一个把文本转换成语音的系统来用令人愉悦而且可配置的警报来提示和引导使用者。显然，下一步就是装上一个用来控制声音的扩音器。


许多微波炉除了定时和设置功率档位之外还可以做更多的事情——它们为烹饪，加热，化冻等提供一系列的功率档位。加上一个精确的温度测量装置感觉会为这个图表大大扩展这个列表。Andrew Tridgell对一个问题很好奇，加热巧克力——一个需要非常精确的温度控制的过程——是否是可能的。Tulloh没有过这方面的经验，他不敢保证这个一定可以，但是这个实验结果的确值得期待。即使没做成这件事，它也显出了潜在价值——社区接下来可以更进一步去做这件事。


### 实用性怎么样？


Tulloh十分乐意向全世界分享这个linux驱动的微波炉，他希望看到（因为这件事）形成一个社区并且想看到它接下来的走势。买一个现成的微波炉并且替换掉里面的电子元件看起来不是一个可行的点子。最后的结果可能会很糟，而买一个小巧智能的微波炉必然要花掉（比自己改造）更多的钱，但是潜在的顾客不想在他们的厨房里看到乱七八糟又不协调的东西。


许多零件都是现成的可以买到的（磁电管，处理器板，热传感器等等），像USB接口的热传感器，而且都很容易安装。软件原型当然也开源在[GitHub](https://github.com/lod?tab=repositories)。微波炉的舱室和门有不小的挑战性并且很可能要定制。Tulloh想要通过提供左侧开仓门的微波炉和颜色多样化的选项来转逆境为机遇。


一个对读者的快速调查：很少有人会贸然承诺他会为了一个全新的升级过的烤箱付出1000澳大利亚元。当然，很难知道是否会有充足的时间和足够多的读者来完成这个调查。这整个项目看起来很有趣。所以Tulloh的[博客](http://david.tulloh.id.au/category/microwave/) (点击这里)也很值得一看。




---


via: <https://lwn.net/Articles/674877/>


作者：Neil Brown 译者：[yuba0604](https://github.com/yuba0604)


本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创翻译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出


OK
# A Linux-powered microwave oven

Scratching an itch is a recurring theme in presentations at
[linux.conf.au](http://linux.conf.au). As the open-hardware
movement gains strength, more and
more of these itches relate to the physical world, not just the digital.
David Tulloh used his [presentation [WebM]](http://mirror.linux.org.au/linux.conf.au/2016/04_Thursday/D4.303
_Costa_Theatre/Linux_driven_microwave.webm) on the “Linux Driven
Microwave” to discuss how annoying microwave ovens can be and to
describe his project to build something less irritating.

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Tulloh's story began when he obtained a microwave oven, admittedly an inexpensive one, with a user interface even worse than the norm. Setting the time required pressing buttons so hard that the microwave tended to get pushed away — a fact that was elegantly balanced by the door handle requiring a sufficiently hard tug to return the oven to its original position. While this is clearly an extreme case, Tulloh lamented that microwave ovens really hadn't improved noticeably in recent decades. They may have gotten a little cheaper and gained a few features that few people could use without poring over the instruction manual — the implied contrast to smartphones, which are widely used with little instruction, was clear.



![[Prototype]](https://static.lwn.net/images/2016/lca-oven-sm.jpg)

This microwave oven was not a lost cause — it gave its life to the greater good and became the prototype for an idea that Tulloh hopes to turn into a crowd-funded project if he can find the right match between features and demand: a Linux-driven microwave oven.

#### Adding novelty

Adding a smartphone-like touchscreen and a network connection and encouraging a community to build innovative apps such as recipe sharing are fairly obvious ideas once you think to put “Linux” and “microwave oven” together, but Tulloh's vision and prototype lead well beyond there. Two novel features that have been fitted are a thermal camera and a scale for measuring weight.

The thermal camera provides an eight-by-eight-pixel image of the contents of the oven with a precision of about two degrees. This is enough to detect if a glass of milk is about to boil over, or if the steak being thawed is in danger of getting cooked. In either case, the power can be reduced or removed. If appropriate, an alert can be sounded. This would not be the first microwave to be temperature sensitive — GE sold microwave ovens with temperature probes decades ago — but an always-present sensor is much more useful than a manually inserted probe, especially when there is an accessible API behind it.

The second innovation is a built-in scale to weigh the food (and container) being cooked. Many recipes give cooking-time guidance based on weight and some microwave ovens allow you to enter the weight manually so it can do a calculation for you. With built-in scales, that can become automatic. Placing a scale reliably under the rotating plate typical of many microwave ovens would be a mechanical challenge that Tulloh did not think worth confronting. Instead his design is based on the “flat-plate” or “flat-bed” style of oven — placing a sensor at each of the four corners is mechanically straightforward and gives good results.



![[User interface]](https://static.lwn.net/images/2016/lca-ovengui-sm.png)

Once you have these extra sensors — weight and temperature — connected
to a suitable logic engine, more interesting possibilities can be
explored. A cup of cold milk from the fridge will have a particular
weight and temperature profile with a modest degree of error. Tulloh
suggested that situation could be detected and some relevant options
such as “Boil” or “Warm” could be offered for easy selection (a mock up of
the interface is at right, a clickable version is [here](http://mwgui.tulloh.id.au/)). Simple
machine learning could extend this to create a personalized
experience. It would be easy to collect a history of starting
profiles and cooking choices; when those patterns are detected, the
most likely cooking choices could be made the easiest to select.

#### Overcoming staleness

Beyond just new functionality, Tulloh wants to improve the
functionality that already exists. Door handles as stiff as on
Tulloh's cheap microwave may not be common, but few microwave oven
doors seem designed to make life easy for people with physical
handicaps. There are regulatory restrictions, particularly in the
US, that require the oven to function only if there is positive
confirmation that the door is actually shut. This confirmation must be
resilient against simple fraud, so poking a stick in the hole must not
trick the oven into working with the door open. In fact, there must be
two independent confirmations and, if they disagree, a fuse must be
blown so that a service call is required. Tulloh believes that a
magnetic latch would provide much greater flexibility (including easy
software control) and that magnetic keying similar to that used in a
[magnetic keyed lock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_keyed_lock) would allow the magnetic latch to pass
certification.

Another pain point with microwave ovens is the annoying sounds they make. Tulloh has discarded the beeper and hooked up a speaker to the Banana Pi that is controlling his prototype. This allows for more pleasant and configurable alerts as well as for advice and guidance through a text-to-speech system. Adding a microphone for voice control is an obvious next step.

Many microwave ovens can do more than just set a time and a power level — they provide a range of power profiles for cooking, warming, defrosting, and so on. Adding precise temperature sensing will allow the community to extend this range substantially. A question from Andrew Tridgell in the audience wondered if tempering chocolate — a process that requires very precise temperature control — would be possible. Tulloh had no experience with the process, and couldn't make promises, but thought it was certainly worth looking in to. Even if that doesn't work out, it shows clear potential for value to be gained from community input.

#### Availability

Tulloh would very much like to get these Linux-enabled microwave ovens out into the world to create a community and see where it goes. Buying existing ovens and replacing the electronics is not seen as a viable option. The result would be ugly and, given that a small-run smart microwave will inevitably cost more, potential buyers are going to want something that doesn't look completely out of place in their kitchen.

Many components are available off-the-shelf (magnetron, processor
board, thermal sensor) and others, such as a USB interface for
the thermal sensor, are easily built. Prototype software is, of course, already available on
[GitHub](https://github.com/lod?tab=repositories).
The case and door are more of a
challenge and would need to be made to order. Tulloh wants to turn
this adversity into an opportunity by providing the option for
left-handed microwave ovens and a variety of colors.

A quick survey
of the audience suggested that few people would hastily commit to his
target price of $AU1000 for a new, improved, open oven. Whether a bit
more time for reflection and a wider audience might tip the balance is
hard to know. The idea is intriguing, so it seems worth
watching Tulloh's [blog](http://david.tulloh.id.au/category/microwave/) for updates.

Index entries for this article | |
---|---|

|


[Brown, Neil](/Archives/GuestIndex/#Brown_Neil)[Conference](/Archives/ConferenceIndex/)[linux.conf.au/2016](/Archives/ConferenceIndex/#linux.conf.au-2016) Posted Feb 10, 2016 22:19 UTC (Wed)
by
Posted Feb 13, 2016 4:54 UTC (Sat)
by I thought you might be referring to Apparently, there's a big market for appliances (well,
Posted Feb 10, 2016 22:33 UTC (Wed)
by
Posted Feb 11, 2016 1:04 UTC (Thu)
by I doubt it. Most microwave ovens these days are mounted permanently into the cabinetry. It'd be impossible to accurately weigh the contents with an external scale.
Posted Feb 11, 2016 5:41 UTC (Thu)
by
Posted Feb 11, 2016 21:33 UTC (Thu)
by
Then to keep it from wiggling around you'd have to have some extruded aluminum railings or something like that as well. Then you'll have to test it to make sure that as the thing ages the vibrations from the transformer or microwave radio to do do anything odd to create a noise in the system and various other things. And it all has to be robust enough to survive shipping and being handled by the customer.
All in all adding platform with a couple sensors under it in the oven is easier.
Posted Feb 13, 2016 9:44 UTC (Sat)
by
Trivial to calibrate and recalibrate too.
Posted Feb 11, 2016 5:40 UTC (Thu)
by
Posted Feb 11, 2016 6:59 UTC (Thu)
by
Posted Feb 11, 2016 7:31 UTC (Thu)
by
Posted Feb 11, 2016 20:34 UTC (Thu)
by
I think the points where the internals are mounted to the case might be the best place to measure, although any of these clever measurement locations depends on having a connection that's both secure and measures pressure.
Posted Feb 12, 2016 16:14 UTC (Fri)
by
Posted Feb 12, 2016 16:53 UTC (Fri)
by
You have to touch the machine in order to make that happening. You can't weigh something accurately as people are manipulating it.
Posted Feb 11, 2016 11:27 UTC (Thu)
by
The rotating plate in microwave oven is here to ensure even heating. If it is not used, then (probably more expensive) metal wave guide stirring fan is needed.
Posted Feb 11, 2016 21:36 UTC (Thu)
by
Ahhh. That's what they are called. That explained the "stirrer" in the slide at
Posted Feb 12, 2016 19:13 UTC (Fri)
by
Don't most microwaves have both? Just looked, our crappy Frigidaire has both. Sample size of 1.
Posted Feb 15, 2016 0:11 UTC (Mon)
by
That makes some sense. Customers are acutely aware of uneven heating problems in microwaves, so will pay more for something that seems to address that. But that uneven heating is actually caused by uneven composition of the food, so the turntable doesn't help.
Posted Feb 11, 2016 10:46 UTC (Thu)
by
I'm sure everybody in here has one or more home appliances where 90% of the buttons go unused because it's just not worth the hassle to look up what they do, mostly because the basic functionality already does the job well enough. Here, the sensors also give you a feeling of confidence that the functions actually work as advertised, since it's not just a pre-programmed set of parameters, and they also provide protection against both human and machine error when using basic microwave functionality.
IoT vendors, take note. Features should not be tacked on, but actually make sense in the context of the whole product.
What irks me though is that it seems like there is no effort to arrive at a coherent well-rounded product, especially considering proposed "features" such as voice input. I've never particularly felt the need to talk to my microwave as pressing a button is usually faster and less involved. I'm also not too sure about the touch screen; I feel like all common interactions one might have with a microwave interface could be achieved at a lower cost with a better feel by combining a display with some context-dependant physical buttons and turn knobs below or on the side.
Posted Feb 11, 2016 21:46 UTC (Thu)
by
Neither have I. But my father-in-law had "the shakes" - his hands only did approximately what he asked them to. Buttons are often unforgiving if you hit the wrong one or press too many times. His voice worked perfectly well though.
Posted Feb 12, 2016 14:59 UTC (Fri)
by
Posted Feb 12, 2016 0:14 UTC (Fri)
by A resounding "Amen!" to that. A microwave oven is merely a I find it oddly eccentric that the appliance companies have seemed bent for the past several decades on adding all these fancy bells & whistles to microwave ovens to fine-tune the heating parameters. Note that I said "heating" and not "cooking"—you really can't I sincerely do [
][
]

This reminds me of the old ## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**tshow** (subscriber, #6411)
[[Link](/Articles/675110/)] (1 responses)
[toaster](http://philip.greenspun.com/humor/eecs-difference-explained) story, somehow.
[
]## The toaster story actually there's another toaster story, sort of

**pr1268** (subscriber, #24648)
[[Link](/Articles/675465/)]
[this story](http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/simplicity_is_highly.html), which also discusses two types of toasters. Perhaps the $20 toaster Donald Norman reminisces about is the model the king's electrical engineer whipped up, while the [₩](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korean_won)250,000 model is the one for which the computer scientist was beheaded. ;-)[software, too](http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/12/09.html)) that have complex, extraneous, and (generally) unneeded whiz-bang features. At least in Korea, where having a refrigerator with a control panel that looks like a [nuclear power plant control room](http://www.tampabay.com/resources/images/dti/rendered/2008/03/tb_nuclear450_14373a_8col.jpg) is a status symbol.[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**df5ea** (subscriber, #59450)
[[Link](/Articles/675112/)] (14 responses)
Placing a scale reliably under the rotating plate typical of many microwave ovens would be a mechanical challenge that Tulloh did not think worth confronting. Instead his design is based on the “flat-plate” or “flat-bed” style of oven — placing a sensor at each of the four corners is mechanically straightforward and gives good results.

Wouldn't it be easier to weigh the whole oven instead? That way the weighing mechanism would be independent of the mechanics inside the oven.
[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**pr1268** (subscriber, #24648)
[[Link](/Articles/675130/)] (3 responses)
Wouldn't it be easier to weigh the whole oven instead? That way the weighing mechanism would be independent of the mechanics inside the oven.

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**roskegg** (subscriber, #105)
[[Link](/Articles/675136/)] (2 responses)

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**drag** (guest, #31333)
[[Link](/Articles/675254/)] (1 responses)



[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**lbt** (subscriber, #29672)
[[Link](/Articles/675477/)]


[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**roskegg** (subscriber, #105)
[[Link](/Articles/675135/)] (5 responses)

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**ernest** (guest, #2355)
[[Link](/Articles/675143/)] (4 responses)

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**felixfix** (subscriber, #242)
[[Link](/Articles/675146/)] (3 responses)

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**iabervon** (subscriber, #722)
[[Link](/Articles/675249/)] (1 responses)


[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**flussence** (guest, #85566)
[[Link](/Articles/675349/)]

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**drag** (guest, #31333)
[[Link](/Articles/675373/)]


[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**jnareb** (subscriber, #46500)
[[Link](/Articles/675179/)] (3 responses)


[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**neilbrown** (subscriber, #359)
[[Link](/Articles/675255/)]


[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3DADx5z-XY&t=183](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3DADx5z-XY&t=183)

which had me mystified.

Thanks.

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**bronson** (subscriber, #4806)
[[Link](/Articles/675394/)] (1 responses)


[
]

I read once that the stirrer is fully effective and the only reason for the turntable is that it seems to customers to be helpful.
## turntable vs microwave scatterer in oven

**giraffedata** (guest, #1954)
[[Link](/Articles/675620/)]
[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**fratti** (guest, #105722)
[[Link](/Articles/675170/)] (20 responses)




[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**neilbrown** (subscriber, #359)
[[Link](/Articles/675256/)] (1 responses)


And the other commenter who carries a bowl of soup with two hands... imagine the solenoid which usually locks the door being given a reverse current when you say "Open Sesame" so that the door swings gently open.

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**fratti** (guest, #105722)
[[Link](/Articles/675333/)]

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**pr1268** (subscriber, #24648)
[[Link](/Articles/675275/)] (17 responses)
I'm sure everybody in here has one or more home appliances where 90% of the buttons go unused because it's just not worth the hassle to look up what they do, mostly because the basic functionality already does the job well enough.

[Faraday cage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage) with a [magnetron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavity_magnetron), a lamp, a swing-out latching front door, and an on/off switch for the magnetron (since it only has two working states: full-power and off).*cook* with a microwave oven. And, considering how [dielectric heating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_heating) works, you can't effectively heat anything which does not contain water.** not** mean to impugn Mr. Tulloh's hard work nor Neil's excellent article. In fact, I'm quite impressed with some of the ingenuity shown by this project. But, there's something to be said about the

[KISS method](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/KISS_principle)—especially when you're working with a device that has only two discrete states of operation.

</minor rant>

P.S. I have fond memories of using my grandmother's microwave oven (vintage early 1980's). It had only two controls: (1) an egg timer-style power knob, and (2) a large mechanical latch button to open the door. Worked great for years.

Posted Feb 12, 2016 14:55 UTC (Fri)
by
David’s additions, though, seem to provide more value than the usual ones (a clock that’s always wrong, silly menus, …). I especially like the infrared sensor. I am less excited about the lack of a turntable. But maybe this spinner part can replace it reliably?
Posted Feb 19, 2016 18:37 UTC (Fri)
by
And both hers and mine have various features I would NOT want to lose. Namely heating elements at the top (commonly known as "a grill"), and at the back (commonly known as a "fan oven").
Our kitchen now has a conventional oven and a combi-oven built-in, and the combination is great. Incidentally, for those who think AU$1K is expensive, if I could get a built-in combi for that price I would consider it very good value for money.
The one big problem with our new - analog - combi is we have to remember to check the settings each time we use it. My old - digital - oven reset itself back to its defaults after every use. It also had the ability to set several programs to run consecutively - made superb baked tatties - set it for 10 mins on combi followed by 10 mins on fan oven and one lovely tatty. Our new analog you have to do the first setting, then when it bleeps "finished" you need to go back and reset it for the second setting.
Cheers,
Posted Feb 12, 2016 15:21 UTC (Fri)
by
I have this creeping suspicion that's it's an attempt to differentiate themselves from the competition without actually having to innovate. A lot of home appliances have come to a state where it would take some serious engineering to make a substantial improvement over previous models (which is expensive), so to keep up a fake air of technological evolution (as we've come to expect it from other devices such as computers or phones), they just tack things on that makes them look more advanced than it really is.
One anecdote I have of kitchen appliances that have essentially reached an innovation plateau is when my family's old hand mixer broke. We've had it for probably over a decade, maybe even more. When my mother came back from the store, she did so with the exact same model. Same white plastic mould that would slowly become yellow over the years with a teal push button on the top to release the attachments and one switch that had several positions to adjust speed, powered with a somewhat flimsy two-wire power cord. Not only did they still produce and sell it, the salesman even recommended it to her, because essentially there have been no improvements over the years. Yes, maybe internally the power supply or the motor were using newer parts, but it's still just an electric motor that you can plug into a wall outlet to spin mixing or puréeing attachments of various shapes.
Posted Feb 12, 2016 17:02 UTC (Fri)
by
OMFG yes, I actually find that for many appliances, they really peaked in the 1950s and the actual utility has been on a plateau or decline since then. Maybe I am just getting old and cranky but I'm not excited about tools like the Nest thermostat or fancy Microwave because the more software the harder it is to reason about what the device is going to do, it becomes a mysterious black box with rules that you just can't quite spend the mental effort to figure out, because we all have better things to do with our time. Instead of our appliances being tools we use we become tools for babysitting the appliances, and a machine for vomiting up cash to the manufacturer.
There is also a lot of advertising out there to convince people that every chore is just _too_hard_ and you need a much larger number of appliances than are really necessary. Take a look at one of the many cooking competition shows to see how many appliances are actually useful in a kitchen.
Posted Feb 12, 2016 19:14 UTC (Fri)
by I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I agree that development is very slow, especially compared to anything involving computers. The key is that for anything, the biggest change is from having nothing to having something, and after that it's mostly refinement, and often with declining returns. An icebox is a huge improvement over nothing, a refrigerator is a big advance over an icebox, but after that you're chasing improvements in convenience and efficiency rather than basic function. Similarly, many of the changes to the microwave (e.g. turntable for the food, variable power level) are real improvements, but they're marginal advances compared to getting one in the first place.
Posted Feb 12, 2016 19:17 UTC (Fri)
by
Now that's progress!
Posted Feb 18, 2016 12:54 UTC (Thu)
by
Posted Feb 18, 2016 14:29 UTC (Thu)
by
Easy, so it can order champagne when you have planned your next orgy. SCNR
Posted Feb 19, 2016 0:23 UTC (Fri)
by
Posted Feb 13, 2016 23:35 UTC (Sat)
by
Those "As Seen on TV" bits should be viewed in light of being targeted at those with disabilities or handicaps. The reason they show normal people purposefully failing is because someone with Parkinson's failing to cleanly break an egg is not something anyone wants to tape, be taped doing, or watch.
Posted Feb 14, 2016 2:51 UTC (Sun)
by
Posted Feb 12, 2016 19:02 UTC (Fri)
by Pretty much. Most of them are relatively simple mechanical tools for performing mechanical tasks- chopping, mixing, blending, etc.- so that there isn't a huge amount to change. They seem to do a few basic things- changing cosmetics, expanding the product line to larger or smaller models, making the motor more powerful, or just trying to squeeze out production costs- that don't change the basic functions. There is some genuine innovation out there- I've been amazingly happy with my induction range, which is a huge advance over conventional electric stoves- but it happens much slower than in tech.
Posted Feb 13, 2016 5:13 UTC (Sat)
by
Not quite. The Panasonic "inverter" ovens (and their licensees) do a credible job of running at partial power.
Posted Feb 13, 2016 7:45 UTC (Sat)
by Interesting... I was thinking of inventing a microwave oven with two independently-controlled magnetrons, each with a different thermal power rating (e.g. 400W and 700W). Any combination of running either/both could give three different heating states (approx. 1/3, 2/3, and full power). Running one continuously and the other toggling on/off (partial load) could give even more discrete power levels. Of course, there's the unwritten postulate that the complexity of mechanical devices with
Posted Feb 17, 2016 23:58 UTC (Wed)
by
Posted Feb 20, 2016 22:46 UTC (Sat)
by Dammit, Jim, I'm a computer scientist, not an electrical engineer with a background in microwave propagation effects! ;-) Of course, my "invention" was just a thought-concept; the scenario you just described succinctly (and graphically) describes why such a microwave oven has not been introduced. Like I said, for A sincere thank you for enlightening me. :-)
Posted Feb 16, 2016 16:18 UTC (Tue)
by
Went back to a more straightforward on-off microwave, which is is still going fine after 3 years.
KISS, indeed.
[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**robbe** (guest, #16131)
[[Link](/Articles/675326/)] (1 responses)


[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**Wol** (subscriber, #4433)
[[Link](/Articles/676507/)]





Wol

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**fratti** (guest, #105722)
[[Link](/Articles/675334/)] (9 responses)



[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**raven667** (subscriber, #5198)
[[Link](/Articles/675374/)] (7 responses)



[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**rgmoore** (**✭ supporter ✭**, #75)
[[Link](/Articles/675392/)]
I actually find that for many appliances, they really peaked in the 1950s and the actual utility has been on a plateau or decline since then.

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**bronson** (subscriber, #4806)
[[Link](/Articles/675398/)] (3 responses)
[https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/calendar/U...](https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/calendar/UhfpcwO0X0c)


[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**nye** (guest, #51576)
[[Link](/Articles/676217/)] (2 responses)

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

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[[Link](/Articles/676226/)] (1 responses)


[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**dfsmith** (guest, #20302)
[[Link](/Articles/676333/)]

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**mathstuf** (subscriber, #69389)
[[Link](/Articles/675537/)] (1 responses)


[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**raven667** (subscriber, #5198)
[[Link](/Articles/675546/)]

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**rgmoore** (**✭ supporter ✭**, #75)
[[Link](/Articles/675388/)]
A lot of home appliances have come to a state where it would take some serious engineering to make a substantial improvement over previous models (which is expensive), so to keep up a fake air of technological evolution (as we've come to expect it from other devices such as computers or phones), they just tack things on that makes them look more advanced than it really is.

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**luto** (subscriber, #39314)
[[Link](/Articles/675468/)] (4 responses)


[
]## Partial-power microwave oven

**pr1268** (subscriber, #24648)
[[Link](/Articles/675475/)] (2 responses)
Not quite. The Panasonic "inverter" ovens (and their licensees) do a credible job of running at partial power.

*n* parts is O(*n*1.5). Or thereabouts. Adding another magnetron would make the microwave oven unnecessarily more complicated. Oh, well...[
]

So here you have two magnetrons relatively tightly coupled, resonant at approximately the same frequency, one powered and one unpowered. To me it seems the unpowered magnetron acts as an ideal resonant antenna to receive RF power from the powered magnetron. Even if the unpowered magnetron is connected to an open circuit, I'd expect significant currents and waste heat generation.
If both magnetrons are powered and coherent (same frequency), then synchronization of their output might be tricky - they would have to be in the same phase, or they would be exchanging a lot of power one to the other. The fact one is twice the power of the second could mean the large magnetron may burn up the smaller magnetron or send current back into its power supply.
Maybe you could detune them (different frequencies) and/or use a cavity resonator as a narrow pass filter so that one magnetron isn't very much affected by the other. Cavity resonators would add mass and size and no doubt reduce efficiency by producing still more heat.
Just thinking...
## Partial-power microwave oven

**opalmirror** (subscriber, #23465)
[[Link](/Articles/676158/)] (1 responses)
[
]## Partial-power microwave oven

**pr1268** (subscriber, #24648)
[[Link](/Articles/676604/)]
Cavity resonators would add mass and size and no doubt reduce efficiency by producing still more heat.

*n* extra parts, O(*n*1.5) complexity...[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**sdalley** (subscriber, #18550)
[[Link](/Articles/675796/)]





### A Linux-powered microwave oven

Posted Feb 11, 2016 23:33 UTC (Thu)
by **dlang** (guest, #313)
[[Link](/Articles/675268/)] (4 responses)


Posted Feb 11, 2016 23:33 UTC (Thu)
by **dlang** (guest, #313)
[[Link](/Articles/675268/)] (4 responses)

unlikely, not because the controls aren't precise enough, but rather because the heat generated is so uneven. This is why most microwaves have turntables in them, to try and move the food around through the hot/cold spots.


Microwaves operate at ~2.4GHz and the wavelength at that frequency is ~5 inches, so your hot spots are going to end up far enough apart that they won't be solved by natural convection through the item being heated.


Posted Feb 12, 2016 11:20 UTC (Fri)
by
Posted Feb 12, 2016 19:05 UTC (Fri)
by
It's about as good as you can reasonably get... If microwaves were spherical and had multiple entry horns (not sure the correct term) then they could cook a little better but, of course, they'd be much harder to package and produce. And there would still be hot and cold spots -- uneven heating is as much a feature of the food as the oven.
Maybe one day we'll have variable-frequency phased array microwaves that use feedback to direct heat right to the cool spots. (dibs on the patent!)
Posted Feb 12, 2016 20:32 UTC (Fri)
by
Posted Feb 13, 2016 16:05 UTC (Sat)
by
[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**johill** (subscriber, #25196)
[[Link](/Articles/675308/)] (3 responses)

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**bronson** (subscriber, #4806)
[[Link](/Articles/675389/)] (2 responses)
[http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/104_spring2004.web.dir/arts_m...](http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/104_spring2004.web.dir/arts_mcnulty/howmicrowaveovenswork.htm)



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]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**boog** (subscriber, #30882)
[[Link](/Articles/675409/)] (1 responses)

[
]## A Linux-powered microwave oven

**flussence** (guest, #85566)
[[Link](/Articles/675494/)]



### A Linux-powered microwave oven

Posted Feb 15, 2016 14:15 UTC (Mon)
by **ortalo** (guest, #4654)
[[Link](/Articles/675648/)]


Posted Feb 15, 2016 14:15 UTC (Mon)
by **ortalo** (guest, #4654)
[[Link](/Articles/675648/)]

Please, do not forget to include an instance of a decent security kernel able to *prohibit* the development and installation of and computer game on the oven touch screen interface, especially those of the variety involving throwing distinguised species of volatiles or mammals onto each others and their baricades.

If you fail that, your loved one and yourself will lament all day on the unavailability of all the kitchen devices and the incredible overheads added to all day to day operations around breakfast, lunch, dinner - due to preemption by your own (little) loved ones.