Introducing iFridge

References:

1. https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/food-loss-and-waste
2. https://www.epa.gov/land-research/farm-kitchen-environmental-impacts-us-food-waste
3. https://www.biocycle.net/2024-food-waste-index/
4. Stierman B, Afful J, Carroll MD, et al. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017–March 2020 prepandemic data files development of files and prevalence estimates for selected health outcomes. Natl Health Stat Report. 2021;158.
5. Hales CM, Carroll MD, Fryar CD, Ogden CL. Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2015-2016. NCHS Data Brief, No. 288. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2017. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

The fridge, a staple household appliance, plays a vital role in our lives by keeping our food and drinks cool and fresh for extended periods of time. They have features like humidity control to maintain food texture and door sensors to activate internal lights or alert users if the door is left open. Most recent ones can even track what is in the fridge. However, current fridges are not nearly as smart as they could be.

Imagine the iFridge: a next-generation smart fridge. Equipped with smart sensors and new artificial intelligence (AI) features, iFridge can help solve two of modern society’s most pressing issues: food waste and obesity. Below, we discuss how iFridge helps address each issue in detail.

Food waste is a major problem in the US, where around 30-40% of food produced is wasted. The wasted food is sufficient to feed all people struggling with food insecurity in the US [1]. Food waste also negatively impacts our environment and planet - US food waste causes 170 million tons of CO2 emissions annually – equivalent to 40 million passenger cars [2]. Moreover, the water and energy spent producing the wasted food are enough to supply over 50 million homes [2]. As households are responsible for 60% of total food waste [3], everyone can and should contribute to reducing food waste.

iFridge will help households significantly reduce food waste through a multifaceted approach. First, iFridge automatically creates and maintains an inventory, the FridgeLog, of all the items in the fridge, including their expiration dates and nutritional information. Using FridgeLog, iFridge keeps track of items and sends notifications to its owner via a smartphone app when certain items are about to expire. It further suggests recipes that use the expiring items. Currently, few existing fridges, like the newest Samsung Bespoke fridge, can keep track of the food in the fridge. But unlike the iFridge, they require the owner to manually enter the expiration dates, a tedious task that very few people are willing to do. iFridge will use its omnidirectional camera system to scan for expiration dates. For unpackaged produce (e.g., loose apples), its freshness is monitored by its color and texture over time through the same camera system. Secondly, iFridge displays the inventory, both on the app and on the screen of the iFridge, and highlights the items that need restocking soon, such as staple foods like milk and eggs. Thirdly, based on the owner’s dietary needs and budget, iFridge can plan a certain number of meals, make weekly shopping lists accordingly, and suggest in-season healthy food to buy. Finally, with the owner’s approval, iFridge can place the order automatically using the owner’s account on Amazon Fresh or other preferred grocery delivery services. Altogether, iFridge will help households significantly reduce food waste by helping the owner make meal plans, keep better track of what they need and already have, and use purchased food while still fresh. iFridge will achieve all these automatically by accessing the owner’s health information and purchasing account, without requiring the owner to perform any tasks manually.

Obesity is another major issue in the US, as it increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc. According to CDC [4], the prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults 20 and over was 41.9% in 2020. Obesity is also rising in the younger population: in the past 30 years, the obesity rate has doubled among children and tripled among adolescents [5].

iFridge can help promote a healthy lifestyle by observing the owner’s eating habits, providing personalized weight loss and nutritional recommendations, and making shopping lists based on the owner’s dietary and wellness needs. First, iFridge records the owner’s eating habits by observing what foods are frequently consumed and restocked, and suggests healthy alternatives whenever possible.

Then, by linking iFridge to the owner’s health program, such as Noom or Apple/Google Watch, iFridge can automatically retrieve the owner’s health information and make recommendations for shopping lists and recipes. These functions not only save the owner’s time in meal planning and preparation but also drastically reduce food waste and increase nutrition, thus making maintaining a healthy lifestyle a more enjoyable and rewarding experience. Furthermore, iFridge can serve as a healthcare companion by monitoring food consumption, especially for older adults who live alone. If iFridge notices its owner has not taken anything out of the fridge for a certain period, it will ping the owner and the loved ones, informing them that the owner has not eaten in a while. iFridge also has an “away mode” so that it will not send alarms if food is not removed when no one is at home.

For iFridge to perform all these tasks, it needs a lot of information to make smart decisions. Like any smart devices, iFridge is connected to the internet and has its fair share of risks. Table 1 lists the information iFridge collects, the associated risks and their mitigation methods.

In summary, iFridge will make life significantly more convenient for households – buying groceries automatically with planned meals and suggesting nutrition and calorie intake that fit the owner’s nutritional needs and fitness goals. It will suggest not only healthy but also appealing recipes and make sure no food (or money, for that matter) is wasted when buying groceries. When universally available, iFridge will contribute significantly to improving the sustainability of our planet and the wellness of the global population.