This chicken burrito image resulted in no matches when uploaded on Pic2Recipe. (Photo/CGTN)
More than a recipe finding app
The technology is reminiscent of the dish recognition feature Pinterest introduced back in May, which enables users to find recipes based on meals they take pictures of.
The move was an upgrade to the Lens tool Pinterest rolled out last summer which allows users to search for themes and pins related to the snaps they take on their phone or they upload from their camera roll.
Pinterest introduced in May a dish recognition feature that helps users search for pins and recipes relevant to their uploads. /VCG Photo
But the researchers behind the machine learning system emphasize that Pic2Recipe is more than just a way to fish for recipes.
While plenty could justifiably see it as the cherry on top as they relentlessly try to innovate in the kitchen, Hynes says the interface is just a side dish in their quest to learn deep associations between recipes and images and train the AI to understand how meals are cooked and how to differentiate between food items.
"What we're really exploring are the latent concepts captured by the model. For instance, has the model discovered the meaning of 'fried' and how it relates to 'steamed?'" he noted.
Their goal is to eventually allow people to improve their dietary habits, and subsequently health, by allowing them to exactly figure out what exactly goes into what they are eating, and determine their meal's nutritional value and calorie count when nutritional information are not available.
