Mono no Design (136) Proposing user-customized home appliances Panasonic 'My Spec' series (Part 2) | My Navi News My Navi News My Navi

IH jar rice cooker with cooking function "Rice & Cooker" SR-UNX101 released on September 1, 2021 as Panasonic's new series of cooking appliances "My Spec"

Pursuit of simple usability

The common identity of the MySpec series is “simple”. That's why we put a lot of effort into UX (user experience) and design.

Mr. Michiyo Kaneda, Microwave Product Planning Section, Product Planning Department, Kitchen Space Division, Kitchen Space Division, Panasonic Living Appliances Company, explains as follows.

Consolidate to a minimum of buttons and make it as simple as possible. We repeatedly verified the operability, smart and smooth operation procedure to reach the end." (Mr. Kaneda)

The display is a monochrome dot liquid crystal. The reason for this is, "Since it is possible to send a lot of menus from the smartphone application to the main unit, it is to make the characters stand out properly and make it easier to see. We also pay attention to the brightness and contrast of the screen."

The appearance of the main unit is unified with white on the entire surface. The part of the clean tray was made pure white. In addition, he continued, "The color of the logo and the color and brightness of the LED are not too conspicuous, and the tone has been adjusted so that it blends in with the space. It was the first time I tried to write the operation buttons in English."

On the other hand, in the rice cooker "Rice & Cooker" SR-UNX101, which is based on application operation, he says, "We pursued a simple UI on the main unit side." On the main unit side, you can register 3 favorite rice cooking menus through the app, and when cooking, check the recipe on the app and send the heating program to the main unit.

According to Ms. Emi Takakuwa of the Cooker Product Planning Section, Product Planning Department, who was in charge of the rice cooker, the part that took a lot of time to discuss was ``How far should the functions of the main body be reduced?''.

"We considered how to operate the main unit, assuming that you do not use the app or connect to the wireless LAN. Many users do not usually change the course of the rice cooker, so we use smartphones. We aimed for a simple body design by doing so.” As an image, I likened it to ``put only the first army that you always use in the main body, and store the second army that you use only occasionally or may use in the app so that you can use it anytime''.

As a result of pursuing simple operability, only the start button is always displayed on the main unit side. For the menu selection screen, etc., "We realized the ultimate in simplicity by making only the necessary LEDs light up when needed. We eliminated the liquid crystal screen of conventional rice cookers, and instead placed LEDs on the white body." We made it so that it is displayed in ,” Takakuwa said.

Simple = not low functionality. Commitment to Cooking Specs

In regards to the rice cooker rice cooker as well, there was unavoidable opposition within the company to the My Specs concept of "removing what was there". "The customer service department had strong concerns. As the person in charge of planning, it was a challenge to ask, 'Is it possible for users to understand how to operate it?' explained.

Two products in the "My Spec" series that pursue the ultimate in simplicity in terms of exterior design and UI. We have never compromised performance in order to achieve a simple and clean finish. Mr. Ai Okahashi of the domestic marketing department emphasizes, "It is a product for people who want simplicity, but basic performance is not a single function."

Like the microwave oven, the outer design of the rice cooker is unified in white to give it a simple impression. We aimed for a flat top surface that is easy to clean as well as looks, without decorating it. It is said that it was difficult to combine such a simple appearance with functionality.

"We abolished the steam cylinder that boils water while cooking rice and adopted a separate part, but the position of the high-performance sensor on the lid was also changed. We had to redesign it.” (Mr. Takakuwa)

In addition, there was such a conflict when realizing high heat power and improved maintenance in the oven range. Specifically, if the heat source is a tube heater, the heating power is strong because it is exposed inside the microwave oven. On the other hand, since the flat heater is stored inside the main unit, it is easy to clean the inside of the refrigerator, but the heating power is reduced.

Therefore, we applied the technology developed in the flagship model in order to achieve a large heating power even with a flat heater. We have developed a "large heating power plane heater" for the MYSPEC series.

Steam dishes are cooked using the optional "Steam Pot". “Everything from cooking verification to new menu development is done from scratch. Because the mechanism itself (the steam pot is different from the existing steam oven), it took time to reproduce the conventional steam menu.” said Kaneda.

Will there be “new category products” in the future?

The My Spec series features an increasing number of menus and recipes even after purchase. We are constantly distributing menu items that have been collaborated with DEAN & DEULCA, a delicatessen from New York that is popular among young people.

Furthermore, "For the time being, we will focus on strengthening and evolving two products that will increase the options that correspond to diverse lifestyles and user preferences, and in the future, we will apply the MySpec concept to new categories of cooking products. We are considering expanding it," he said.

The My Spec series was born with the idea of ​​adding functions later, like a personal computer or smartphone. We hope that it will lead to further development as many users pick up and pursue their own "my specs".