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instructional and holistic, coaching us through the steps of meal preparation in a more intuitive way. Connectivity can make things easier and better with automatic updates to the software in our appliances, diagnostic services for remote repairs and linking our appliances to work together, for a more seamless meal preparation experience. Most conferences, KBIS among them, are so industry spe- cifc that we tend toward tunnel vision, not recognizing what's going on in parallel industries that afect trends and product de- velopment. By overlapping our industry with more development and conceptual "upstream" industries, we can help infuence the coming changes. In his study of consumer markets and emerging trends, Michael Wolf has seen promising, innovative products come out that are rejected by consumers. Too many good product intro- ductions just plain misfre. IMPACTING TECHNOLOGY As kitchen and bath industry professionals, we have a unique understanding of how our customers use their kitchens, what their issues are and what's important to them. The fusing of our two worlds can result in less development time and mon- ey being wasted. We could efectively bypass some growing pains of new products and technologies that get introduced for use in the kitchen. During the networking sessions, many of the attendees were asking, "Why haven't we done this before?" The interfacing of players from across industries was powerful. There was a sense we were being exposed to possibilities and developments in their early stages, rather than the "done deal" of most product introductions. This being the frst Smart Kitchen Summit, there is oppor- tunity to partner with this event in a more meaningful way and expand our role in future summits through co-marketing, cross educational sessions and networking. Pulling the tech industry and the kitchen industry more closely together is a beneft to both. As kitchen and bath design professionals, we can pre- pare for the future and identify macro trends through a clearer conversation with innovator types and possibly infuence the outcomes of future products and services as well. Conference attendee Marie Blackburn, CMKBD, CID, of MLB Design Group in Seattle, WA, refected on this enthusi- asm and almost frenzied level of "things" being developed to make our lives more convenient and efcient. "The inevitable 'Internet of Things' is viewed by many as the next exciting worldwide change – as important a watershed moment in technology and culture as the Industrial Revolution and the Internet Revolution. The key premise of the 'Internet of Things' is that technology will solve problems without input from people," she noted. Perhaps this is a good argument for us to become more involved in representing the needs of our customers and our own practical experience to temper and infuence some of this rapidly developing technology. Some of us may see ourselves as "aging out" before embracing this technology becomes vitally important to our business, while other design profes- sionals and manufacturers enthusiastically embrace the many possibilities evolving technology and connectivity ofer to our clients and to our work. Summit creator Michael Wolf will be making a presentation about the Smart Kitchen Summit at KBIS this month, where he will take his message directly to our industry. Consumers' behavior will continue to change and drive our industry, with increased focus on how we cook, nutrition awareness, efciency, access to information, convenience and security. We are being brought back to the kitchen table – make that "Smart Table" – in a fundamental way to better understand what we're eating and how we're cooking it for best beneft. As an example, Wolf point- ed out that 70% of consumers brew their own cofee daily, but less than 10% brew their own beer. If it was as easy as brewing cofee, wouldn't more of us do it? Joel Fraley, CKD, CAPS, of Fraley + Company in Portland, OR said he attended the conference because he likes to stay on top of developing technology as much as possible. "Of course, we are still a ways of – at least 10 years away from having this type of technology truly incorporated into our kitchens," he observed. Personally, he prefers a more simple kitchen design, and admits to being skeptical about fancy cofee, tea and beer brewing machines. "All I need is a refrigerator, a heat source and running water in a kitchen," he said jokingly. As a more "hands on" kind of cook, he refects the sentiment of many who use cooking and meal preparation as a soothing way to unwind at the end of a busy, tech-overloaded day. "Some people even like going to the grocery store," he adds. But that isn't the case for everyone, from millennials expecting speed and technology in all aspects of their lives to older consumers who no longer want to carry heavy bags from store to car to home. And I must admit that, after a long and busy day, I fnd my- self pining for that Hiku button myself ! An afliate of Ellen Cheever & Associates, Kathleen Donohue, CMKBD, CAPS, has been involved in the kitchen and bath industry for over 35 years as a design professional, educator, author and consultant. She currently lives and works in Bend, OR, where she designed and supervised Neil Kelly showrooms in Bend and Seattle, and she designs & sells remodeling projects for Neil Kelly Co. in Oregon and Washington. Amazon Echo not only plays music with 360-degree omni- directional audio, it also controls lights, switches and other connected devices, answers questions, reads audio books, provides weather and sports scores and more using voice control. The June Intelligent Oven is described as 'a computer that cooks' and includes an interior camera and an Nvidia Tegra processor commonly used in mobile devices. 78 Kitchen & Bath Design News • January 2016 AUTOMATION