“Hey Google!” : Using home assistants to reduce food waste

Abstract: About a third of the food produced for humans goes to waste without being consumed. More knowledge about how to reduce food waste is one key to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases in this sector. There are multiple approaches in striving towards this goal, one being an implementation of a notification system in everyday communication tools, such as voice assistants. This study provides a first insight into the factors that influence the usability of a voice assisted system in order to reduce food waste. The aim of this study was to answer the question “To what degree can a voice assistant help households keep track of available food and reduce food waste?”. Ten participants took part in this study examining the use of a Google Home-device in order to reduce food waste. In a pre-trial interview the participants current attitude towards food waste and their efforts to reduce it was investigated.. The participants were then randomly divided into three groups; 1) analog group, 2) Google Home coupled to calendar 3) Google Home coupled to calendar in addition to labeling food. During a two week testing period the participants were instructed to log their available food and an expected consumption date. In a follow up interview the experienced effects and perception of the viability of the system and its strengths and limitations was investigated. The results from the testing phase show a positive improvement in awareness and usage of leftover food for all groups. Both groups using Google Home reported average improvement scores similar to each other. However the labeling group used the system almost twice as much as the group that exclusively used a Google Home. The results imply that using a voice assisted logging system to track food may be a viable option to reduce food waste in households. Several issues that limit the potential of Google Home were discovered during the test and further development would likely improve usability of the system.