A refrigerator equipped with RFID technology that informs the owner when food needs to be replenished is being developed by Samsung Electronics.
The fridge aims to identify when products such as eggs or milk are running low and notify the owner accordingly via their mobile phone, the Korea Times reports
In addition, a number of extra facilities are being planned for the appliance. Samsung spokesman Chae Hee-kook explained that when the fridge is programmed, it could be able to re-order groceries which have expired or run out.
“Shoppers will go to the store to see new grocery orders already packed on their arrival,” he said.
It is also hoped that the refrigerator will have the ability to offer recipes using ingredients stocked within it.
However, there is no certainty as to when the product could be launched, due to the growing but not-yet-widespread adoption of RFID tags on items such as perishables.
Mr Hee-kook suggested that it could be 2008 or 2009 before the fridge is unveiled.
Whether or not consumers actually want this technology, along with the automatic re-ordering of their fridge’s contents, nobody quite knows as yet. But it would not come as a surprise to find a tie up with one of the large national supermarket chains that home deliver to provide automatic re-stocking at some point in the future.
Similar technologies are being looked into for use on home laundry products as well, primarily washing machines, so that clothing is washed on the correct cycle.
