A couple months ago, the computer in my refrigerator crashed. Yep, my fridge has a computer. And it's not a big, expensive, fancy fridge, either. Heck, it doesn't even have an ice maker. It didn't really occur to me that my fridge was computer-controlled until it stopped cooling. As I fiddled with the controls, I noticed that instead of dials that manually adjust the coolness, it has buttons that change a number on an LED display. Following my usual tech troubleshooting methods, I tried rebooting the fridge by unplugging it and plugging it back in. Like most good computers, it started working again. (We had the computer replaced anyway, since I don't really want to risk food spoilage at the whim of a faulty computer.)
Around the same time, I heard that a local grocery store offers online ordering. Shoppers just point and click to order their food, specify a pickup time, and pick up their groceries at a drive-through window. This isn't a new concept- Peapod and Webvan tried this in the 90's, only with delivery to your house. Amazon is trying it again.
The obvious gap in this system, even with food being delivered to your house, is that it takes an actual person to look inside the fridge and notice, "Hey! I'm out of milk," and then walk all the way over to a computer to log on and order milk.
My cool idea is to expand the capability of the computer in the fridge to do the ordering for you. There's already a computer in there. Adding a TCP/IP stack should be a trivial task, and most new homes have networks and broadband access. Add a pressure-sensitive platform to your fridge shelf that holds your milk, and you are set for fully-automated milk delivery.
The sensor in your fridge knows how much milk is left by the weight on it. When the weight gets too low (based on a level that you have set, or, in a future version, based on the computer's analysis of your milk-consumption trends), it automatically sends an order to the grocery store's online ordering system to have more milk delivered.
Unfortunately, I'm about five years too late with this basic idea, because LG beat me to it. But wait, there's more! What the LG model lacks is an integrated, automatic ordering system, and a database-driven grocery trend analysis (which, of course, it the obvious next step for any networked appliance that deals with human consumption).
Having to remember to put the milk on the correct pressure-sensitive shelf in the fridge is probably too much work, so the real tipping point of this will be reached when RFID tags are on groceries. Add an RFID reader to your fridge, and then the possibilities explode. Your computer can scan all items going in and out of your fridge. It keeps an inventory of everything in there and order replacements when you need them. It warns you when the milk is past its expiration date. Add sensors to your pantry, and the fridge computer becomes the hub of your food inventory system. A touchpanel and screen on the front of the fridge (or a simple Bluetooth console) lets you configure the system. Need to make a quick meal? Ask the fridge what can be made with the food available. Download a recipe for your party of ten next week, and the fridge will order what you need. Integration with allrecipes.com or any other source is a natural- browse recipes and then have them ordered.
There's an open market for a service provider to tie all these together. But how to pay for it? In comes product placement in the form of free samples customized to your individual taste. Your food trends can be analyzed resulting in perfect advertising, a la Amazon's and Netflix's personalized recommendations. On your next online grocery order, a food manufacturer includes a free sample of food in your order which matches your preferences. The grocery stores and vendors pay a small fee to the service provider for the marketing data and/or preferential ordering.
There are obviously reasons why a database of your shopping and eating habits would be cause for concern. For example if your health insurance company gets it and decides to increase your rates because you've been buying too much Chubby Hubby ice cream and you have a family history of heart disease. But you know those little "super saver" club cards you scan to get discounts? They already track your purchases, so I think we've already crossed that bridge. And if history has taught us anything, it's that Americans will pay dearly for convenience. That's why I think we will actually see this in the next five year. Anybody want to start a company?
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