Smart refrigerator

Last updated

LG Smart Refrigerator at CES 2011 LG Smart Refrigerator at CES 2011.jpg
LG Smart Refrigerator at CES 2011

A smart refrigerator, also known as internet refrigerator, is a refrigerator which is able to communicate with the internet. [1] This kind of refrigerator is often equipped to determine itself whenever a food item needs to be replenished. [2] This is still partly managed by human involvement but the next evolution of smart technology is the Intelligent Refrigerator, which incorporates inventory tracking for all items inside, along with a seamless payment system. This involves connecting the refrigerator to an online retail store, ensuring a consistently stocked refrigerator at home for domestic use. For commercial use, additional features such as payment terminals and locks are integrated to manage tasks like unattended retail and queue busting.

Contents

History

By the late 1990s and the early 2000s, the idea of connecting home appliances to the internet (Internet of Things) had been popularized and was seen as the next big thing. [3] In June 2000, LG launched the world's first internet refrigerator, the Internet Digital DIOS. This refrigerator was an unsuccessful product because the consumers had seen it as unnecessary and expensive (more than $20,000). [4]

Controversy

Security

In 2000, Russian anti-virus company Kaspersky Lab warned that in a few years Internet-connected refrigerator and other household appliances may be targets of net viruses, such as ones that could be designed to make the refrigerator door swing open in the middle of the night. [5] In January 2014, the California security firm Proofpoint, Inc. announced that it discovered a large “botnet” which infected an internet-connected refrigerator, as well as other home appliances, and then delivered more than 750,000 malicious emails. [6] In August 2015, security company Pen Test Partners discovered a vulnerability in the internet-connected refrigerator Samsung model RF28HMELBSR that can be exploited to steal Gmail users' login credentials. [7]

Support

In late 2014, several owners of internet-connected Samsung refrigerators complained that they could not log into their Google Calendars accounts, after Google had discontinued the calendar API earlier in the year and Samsung failed to push a software update for the refrigerator. [8] [9]

Examples

Internet refrigerator as seen in the science fiction film The 6th Day SmartFridge.PNG
Internet refrigerator as seen in the science fiction film The 6th Day

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home appliance</span> Machine for household uses

A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haier</span> Chinese consumer electronics and appliance company

Haier Group Corporation is a Chinese multinational home appliances and consumer electronics company headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong. It designs, develops, manufactures and sells products including refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, dryers, microwave ovens, mobile phones, computers, and televisions. The home appliances business, namely Haier Smart Home, has seven global brands – Haier, Casarte, Leader, GE Appliances, Fisher & Paykel, Aqua and Candy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LG Electronics</span> South Korean multinational electronics company

LG Electronics Inc. is a South Korean multinational major appliance and consumer electronics corporation headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest chaebol in South Korea, and often considered as the pinnacle of LG Corp with the group's chemical and battery division LG Chem. It comprises four business units: home entertainment, mobile communications, home appliances & air solutions, and vehicle components. LG Electronics acquired Zenith in 1995 and is the largest shareholder of LG Display, the world's largest display company by revenue in 2020. LG Electronics is also the world's second largest television manufacturer behind Samsung Electronics. The company has 128 operations worldwide, employing 83,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refrigerator</span> Appliance for cold food storage

A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so that its inside is cooled to a temperature below the room temperature. Refrigeration is an essential food storage technique around the world. The low temperature lowers the reproduction rate of bacteria, so the refrigerator reduces the rate of spoilage. A refrigerator maintains a temperature a few degrees above the freezing point of water. The optimal temperature range for perishable food storage is 3 to 5 °C. A freezer is a specialized refrigerator, or portion of a refrigerator, that maintains its contents’ temperature below the freezing point of water. The refrigerator replaced the icebox, which had been a common household appliance for almost a century and a half. The United States Food and Drug Administration recommends that the refrigerator be kept at or below 4 °C (40 °F) and that the freezer be regulated at −18 °C (0 °F).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimchi refrigerator</span> Refrigerator dedicated to fermenting or storing kimchi

A kimchi refrigerator is a refrigerator designed specifically to meet the storage requirements of kimchi and facilitate different fermentation processes. The kimchi refrigerator aims to be colder, with more consistent temperature, more humidity, and less moving air than a conventional refrigerator, providing the ideal environment for fermentation of kimchi. Some models may include features such as a UV Sterilizer.

Household goods are goods and products used within households. They are the tangible and movable personal property placed in the rooms of a house, such as a bed or refrigerator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart TV</span> TV set with integrated Internet features

A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features that allow users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart TVs are a technological convergence of computers, televisions, and digital media players. Besides the traditional functions of television sets provided through traditional broadcasting media, these devices can provide access to over-the-top media services such as streaming television and internet radio, along with home networking access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tizen</span> Linux-based mobile operating system

Tizen is a Linux-based mobile operating system backed by the Linux Foundation, developed and used primarily by Samsung Electronics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yahoo! Smart TV</span>

Yahoo! Smart TV was a Smart TV platform developed by Yahoo! based upon the Yahoo! Desktop Widgets (Konfabulator) platform. Yahoo! Connected TV announced on August 20, 2008, at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco as the Widget Channel, it integrated the Yahoo! Widgets Engine with a new television oriented user interface to enable Internet connected applications to run and display on a 10-foot user interface. The platform was slowly being abandoned by its manufacturers, and was eventually deprecated. New apps that were based on Konfabulator stopped being added effective March 30, 2018, but existing apps can still be updated and installed, and HTML5 based apps are not affected by this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wear OS</span> Smartwatch operating system by Google

Wear OS is a version of Google's Android operating system designed for smartwatches and other wearables. By pairing with mobile phones running Android version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or newer, or iOS version 10.0 or newer with limited support from Google's pairing application, Wear OS integrates Google Assistant technology and mobile notifications into a smartwatch form factor. Wear OS is closed-source, in contrast to the free and open-source Android.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenmore (brand)</span> Brand of household appliances

Kenmore is an American brand of household appliances, cookware, floorcare, grills, HVAC equipment and other home items owned and licensed by Transformco, an affiliate of ESL Investments. Previously they were a subsidiary brand of Sears Holdings, but after Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018 they were acquired by Transformco, formed in 2019 after acquiring the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet Digital DIOS</span> LG Electronics internet refrigerator

The LG Internet Digital DIOS is an internet refrigerator released by LG Electronics in June 2000. The technology is the result of a project that started in 1997 and staffed by a team of 55 researchers with a budget cost of 15 billion won.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MyTuner Radio</span>

myTuner Radio, or simply myTuner, is an Internet radio app directory/platform owned by AppGeneration – Software Technologies, Lda, a development company based in Porto, Portugal founded by Eduardo Carqueja in October 2010. myTuner Radio has over 50,000 radio stations and one million podcasts from all around the world. On June 7, 2017, AppGeneration announced that its service had over 30 million users and a database with radio stations of 200 countries. my Turner Radio platform is available for the web at mytuner-radio.com, for a suite of mobile apps: iOS, Google Play, Samsung, Huawei, Amazon, Windows Phone; for desktop devices: Web, Windows, and Mac, wearables: Apple Watch and Android Wearables, for connected devices like Apple TV, Samsung TVs, LG TVs, TV sets and set-top boxes with Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku TV and Chromecast, connected cars: Apple Carplay, Android Auto, Bosch mySPIN, Jaguar & Land Rover InControl Apps, and also on home appliances and smart speakers like Alexa and Sonos.

Emby is a media server designed to organize, play, and stream audio and video to a variety of devices. Emby's source code was mostly open with some closed-source components as of August 2017, releases of the software published via the Emby website are however proprietary and cannot be replicated from source due to the build scripts also being proprietary. As of version 3.5.3 Emby has been relicensed and is now closed-source, while open source components will be moved to plugins. Due to this, a free open source fork of Emby was created called Jellyfin. Emby uses a client–server model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bixby (software)</span> Intelligent personal assistant

Bixby is a virtual assistant developed by Samsung Electronics, launched in 2017 as a replacement of the S Voice assistant. It runs on various Samsung branded appliances, primarily mobile devices but also some refrigerators. The suite includes a voice assistant known as Bixby Voice, as well as contextual search and visual search features including tools like Bixby Vision, an augmented reality camera app, Bixby Text Call, a handsfree call answer feature, and others like Bixby Routines, and Bixby Home.

LG ThinQ is a brand launched by LG Electronics in 2017, featuring products that are equipped with voice control and artificial intelligence technology. The brand was originally launched for home appliances and consumer electronics, such as refrigerators and air conditioners. In February 2018, LG announced the LG V30S ThinQ, which is the first phone to have the "ThinQ" branding.

Matter is a freely available connectivity standard for smart home and IoT devices. It aims to improve interoperability and compatibility between different manufacturers and security, and always allowing local control as an option.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home Assistant</span> Home automation software

Home Assistant is free and open-source software used for home automation. It serves as an integration platform and smart home hub, allowing users to control smart home devices. The software emphasizes local control and privacy and is designed to be independent of any specific Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. Its interface can be accessed through a web-based user interface, by using companion apps for Android and iOS, or by voice commands via a supported virtual assistant, such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Home Assistant's own "Assist" using natural language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NetCast</span> Smart TV firmware

NetCast is a Smart TV platform based on Linux, built by LG Electronics that was preinstalled on their smart TVs between 2009 and 2014. LG has signed partnerships with various companies to provide services on the TV. It includes YouTube, AccuWeather, Orange Mobile, Maxdome, CinemaNow, Netflix and more apps that can be downloaded from the internet. LG has combined local and global services to provide the most relevant content. In 2011, LG added the LG Apps Store to the platform. It allowed users to install applications which were not previously included on their TVs. The platform was succeeded by WebOS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsung Experience Store</span> Retail store chain for Samsung products

The Samsung Experience Store is a chain of retail stores featuring products by Samsung Electronics. Unlike other Samsung-branded stores, these stores are generally owned and operated by Samsung Electronics themselves, specifically their local distribution arms. Locations primarily sell Samsung Galaxy mobile devices and accessories and can feature other Samsung-owned brands.

References

  1. "You Still Probably Shouldn't Buy a Smart Fridge". Review Geek. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  2. "New technologies in refrigerators iPhone Apps". Maple Leaf Appliance Repair Calgary. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  3. Foote, Keith D. (17 December 2021). "A Brief History of Cloud Computing". DATAVERSITY. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  4. Mahajan, Mukesh P.; Nikam, Rohit R.; Patil, Vivek P.; Dond, Rahul D. (2017). "Smart Refrigerator Using IOT" (PDF). International Journal of Latest Engineering Research and Applications . 2 (3). Nashik, India: 6. ISSN   2455-7137 . Retrieved 22 August 2022 via Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering.
  5. Harrison, Linda (21 June 2000). "Fridges to be hit by Net viruses". The Register . Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  6. "Fridge sends spam emails as attack hits smart gadgets". BBC News . 17 January 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  7. Neagle, Colin (26 August 2015). "Smart refrigerator hack exposes Gmail account credentials". Network World. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  8. Limer, Eric (9 December 2015). "Hilarious Tech Support Thread Reveals the True Horror of a Smart Home". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  9. Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (11 December 2015). "Smart Fridge Only Capable of Displaying Buggy Future of the Internet of Things". Motherboard. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  10. Henderson, Odie (4 June 2017). "Silicon Valley Recap: The Price of Dignity". Vulture. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  11. Henderson, Odie (25 June 2017). "Silicon Valley Season-Finale Recap: Servers Have Souls Too". Vulture. Retrieved 21 January 2022.