A Fridge connected to the Internet? One that ‘Talks’ to your milk? One that sends you an SMS list for a quick shopping visit on the way home from work? Well its all possible with prototypes being developed by Samsung, Siemens and Hitachi.

Using RFID* tags inserted into  some, and soon to be most, food packaging, or simply scanning a barcode as the item is placed into the fridge, these intelligent creatures know what you eat, how you eat it, and even when you have finished with it.

A display on the fridge shows you details of the item you have put into it. It can even take you to the website of the manufacturer to show you nutrition and recipe details.

Other features will advise you when your milk or peanut butter is getting low. The technology is available now, the engineers are simply working out the best way to put them altogether into a white good that will meet your every need.

Think of the possibilities here. If you say, made a long term commitment with a popular nutrition organisation that delivered carefully calorie controlled packaged meals, would your Fridge dob on you when you sneak that vanilla yoghurt late at night? It could, after all, be capable of calculating calories of everything that goes in and out. Sensors would tell by the weight on a pad on the floor just who was at the door. Other methods such as the RFID tags or barcodes would indicate exactly what was being removed, scanners would check levels in returned jars, and possibly even video evidence of your recalcitrance sent to the packaged meal provider. What would they do then? Send a copy to YouTube to shame you into returning to the program? Big Brother is hiding in you’re Fridge!

Do we need intelligent white goods? Would you like your fridge to be in control of your families daily eating habits? I’ve even read of a Fridge that works out its contents, checks recipes on the web, and starts you’re oven in time for when you get home, prepare the ingredients and need to put it in the oven to cook! Insane….

How much will all this cost you? There arent any solid numbers around and no standard to go by as they can have quite a few different features depending on brand. Try this link. I think i shows why Hitachi have withdrawn from the Australian market on the white good side of things. Anything that starts out with the statement ‘Justifiably Expensive’ slaps you in the face with a wet fish and challenges you to afford it! It doesnt have an Internet connection, but wierd technology such as Anti-Oxidant Vitamin Cassettes, Intelligent Flaps and sensors, Vacuum Drawers, LED lighting and more.

Cheers for now

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