Automated Shakshuka
Tufts University, 2019
Our mission is to ease the stress of homelife by providing an automated cooking system.
Introducing: shakshuk, your personal shakshuka cook. shakshuk is an automated system that prepares four serving sizes of shakshuka in 50 minutes. The system requires minimal human interaction; in fact, a human simply has to place all ingredients in a drawer, press 'Start', and come back in 50 minutes to eat a deliciously prepared shakshuka dish! Yum!
This was a group project by Linda Cameron, Lena Chang, Samantha Levy, and Rhea Montgomery-Walsh.

TASK ANALYSIS
Prior to designing shakshuk, we conducted a Task Analysis that a typical person would follow when making shakshuka from a scratch recipe. We used a Hierarchical and Cognitive Task Analysis, which enabled us to write the product requirements and product risks for shakshuk.
PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS
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Minimal ingredient preparation
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Minimal cognitive load when inputting ingredients
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Minimal risk for the human operator
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No user input or requirements once cooking process begins
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Notifications of system error
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Touch-screen interface control of system
PRODUCT RISKS
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User has risk of burning self when retrieving the final dish
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User could insert expired ingredients into system and get sick
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Heating system in machine could pose as a fire hazard
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Possibility of system blockage when chopping ingredients





FLOW CHART
After conducting the task analysis, we devised a flow chart for our shakshuk system. The flow chart contains process goals, steps and substeps, and decision points the system is required to follow and make to reach the final result.
SYSTEM USAGE INSTRUCTIONS: INTERFACE
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Press "Begin" on system's touch-screen interface
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Look at checklist of ingredients
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One-by-one, place ingredients into the drawer below and wait for system to recognize the inputs.
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If an ingredient is inserted in minimal quantity or more, checkbox turns green with a check.
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If an ingredient is inserted in a smaller quantity than the minimal amount listed, the checkbox turns yellow with a "..."
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If an incorrect ingredient is inserted, a red popup will tell user to remove that ingredient.
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Once all ingredients are inserted into the drawer in the correct quantities, the system's interface will display a "Continue" button. Press "Continue".
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The interface will prompt the user to press "Start" to begin making the shakshuka.
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A countdown stopwatch will appear on the interface to inform the user of how much time is left until their meal is ready.
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The system will alert the user if an issue occurs throughout the cooking process, so take a step back and relax.
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Once the cooking process has concluded, the system's cooking stopwatch will go off.
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Time to eat!


Interface created by Lena Chang

Interface created by Lena Chang

NAÏVE USER WALKTHROUGH
Sarah, a working mother in her late 30’s is always busy and wants to make a tasty, healthy meal that is easy to make. Sarah comes across shakshuk and decides to give it a try.
Sarah sees on the display that the system takes 50 minutes to make shakshuka, so when dinner is about an hour away, Sarah presses the green “Begin” button on the interface. A checklist of required ingredients appears on the display. By looking at the list, Sarah knows the type and quantity of ingredients required. She then gathers the ingredients listed, opens the ingredient drawer, places the ingredients inside one-by-one, and then closes the drawer. Ingredients can be placed in any part of the drawer, so Sarah doesn’t need to worry about her drawer-placement of ingredients. Sarah then waits a few seconds for the machine to detect whether or not she placed the correct ingredients in the drawer, and the right amount of each ingredient. Green checkmarks appear on each checkbox of the checklist, and she is good to go.
If Sarah forgets an ingredient, the checkbox to the left of the ingredient would stay grey, and the machine will not give Sarah the option to start. Sarah would need to get that ingredient and put it in the drawer. If Sarah did not put in enough of an ingredient, a yellow box with three dots would appear in the checkbox of the listed item. Sarah will only be allowed to begin the automated cooking process when all of the correct ingredients, in minimal quantities or more, are placed into the machine. If an ingredient that the recipe does not call for (e.g. an apple) is placed in the drawer, the system displays a message, using the camera scanner inside of the machine to take a picture of the unwanted ingredients and show Sarah which item is unneeded. Sarah is notified of what she should remove.
Sarah then presses the "Start" button on the display, and the machine gets to work. As shakshuk cooks the shakshuka, the stage of cooking is displayed on the screen as well as the time left. shakshuk is locked throughout this entire process so that Sarah and her family members cannot be harmed in the cooking process.
If Sarah decides that she no longer wants shakshuka, she can press the "Cancel" button on the display that will stop the machine. After canceling this process, if Sarah realizes that she indeed wants shakshuka, and if a certain amount of time has not passed, the shakshuk can go back to where it was when Sarah had pressed "Cancel".
When the shakshuka is ready, the machine will beep. Sarah easily removes the cooked shakshuka. A "Caution, Hot!" message will appear on the display to notify Sarah to be careful when removing the shakshuka. However, shakshuk will not beep until the shakshuka has cooled to a reasonable level. Sarah sees a beautifully made shakshuka when she removes the dish and enjoys her delicious meal.

