LG Smart Fridge tells you what to buy, and how to eat it

January 17th, 2012

Fridges & Freezers Kitchen

As Australians in the midst of summer we must appreciate our own, James Harrison, who in 1856 pioneered the refrigeration process we rely on for icy-cold beer. Today, thanks to LG, the humble fridge can alert us via our smartphone if it’s empty of the quintessential thirst quencher, so we can pick some up on the way home (Little Creatures Pale Ale, anyone?).

Revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week in Las Vegas, the LG Thinq Smart Refrigerator reminds users what items require buying, what perishibles have reached their expiry date, and suggests recipe ideas for the profiles of family members based on age, gender, weight and even body mass index. Forget the sticker on the fridge door to dissuade a dieter from snacking (‘A moment on the hips, forever on the lips!’), the LG model uses voice recognition to suggest personalised healthy options available.

LG's 2012 Smart Fridge, telling you what to buy, and how to cook it

This is not the first time appliance makers have introduced internet enabled refrigerators. In 2010 Samsung released the Zipel into the Korean market, with a 10-inch touchscreen and WiFi connectivity. At the time however, critics were unsure such devices would resonate with the Australian market. Babak Hadi, founder of Fortitude Valley’s Black Pearl Epicure, told Brisbane’s The Courier Mail that smart-fridges could be a waste of time and wouldn’t catch on.

“People do not stand up and do things on the internet…in front of the fridge. All our internet use, whether it’s ordering food or researching recipes we do sitting down. It sounds fancy and very technical but I don’t think it has long legs to stand on in terms of practicality,” Hadi told the Courier. Greasy hands and touch screens were not to mix, it seemed.

Yet in less than two years touchscreen use has become widespread in Australia from smartphones to tablet computers and the idea of using a touchscreen on a fridge may not seem unusual any longer. Connecting smart devices to a fridge mightn’t be such a stretch, either.

But back to beer and LG’s arguably Australianesque innovation, the Blast Chiller. The Blast Chiller is a function that will cool a warm can of beer in five minutes. Or two beers or a bottle of wine in eight minutes. (That’s if the fridge hasn’t suggested a healthier option for you, such as carrot juice.)

The LG Thinq Smart Refrigerator is only one appliance in a world of integrated ‘smart home’ living the Korean manufacturer revealed this week at CES.