Need an Artistic Frig?

Too much ART complexity for what needs to be a simple as possible device, would not buy one. 

Samsung is announcing that its Bespoke line of custom appliance decorations will enable a form of generative AI art on its refrigerators and more.

With MyBespoke, the company will tap a combination of a human artist with generative AI art to make a collection of art available for its appliances.

The company’s latest line of refrigerators will have a Bespoke refrigerator that can be personalized with your original designs, artwork or favorite photos. MyBespoke custom panels help inspire you to create a one-of-a-kind fridge so you can personalize your kitchen.

Samsung said MyBespoke embraces home design trends that express personality and style using new materials, colors and artful designs. You can design your one-of-a-kind MyBespoke fridge panels with one or both French Doors and Samsung will deliver them to your home.

You can create your own design when you purchase a Bespoke refrigerator from Samsung.com, and simply change out your existing Bespoke French Door fridge panels with your custom-designed panels. To complement your custom MyBespoke design on the top doors, you can choose from a variety of bold, bright or neutral Bespoke colors in glass or metallic finishes – for the lower doors or drawers of the fridge.

You can upload, edit and print your design on customizable, interchangeable Bespoke fridge door panels on Samsung.com. MyBespoke custom printed panels are available for $300 per panel, with delivery to your home in approximately eight weeks.  ... ' 

Solid State Cooling from SRI

Fascinating development reported in IEEE Spectrum.  Have long been a minor student of the physics of refrigeration,  will this development be practical for cooling or even refrigeration?   Also a mention of SRI, who we worked with over the years.  In fact SRI was long ago responsible for detergent innovations that we used and continue to leverage.    See SRI tag below for more mentions I have made, I will do a quick search of their work and report back.

" .... Can you imagine an electric cooler compact enough to fit in your pocket and flexible enough to wear? If not, think again because engineers at the University of California at Los Angeles and SRI International have one working: A 5-millimeter-thick device that is the world’s first solid-state cooler combining practicality, energy efficiency, and high performance. ...  "

A Fridge that will Bring you a Beer

Notably a Panasonic concept device that wont be available for 'a few years'.  Points out that the complexity of navigation, even in the realm of a non-custom built smart home, is being addressed.  Also voice control is becoming a required part of advanced devices.

This robotic fridge brings the drinks to couch potatoes  in Fastcompany  (includes video in operation)

Attention couch potatoes: Prepare to lazily rejoice because some like-minded genius just invented a robotic fridge that brings the drink to you so you never, ever have to get off the couch.

Reuters reports that Panasonic just unveiled a voice-controlled robot refrigerator that responds to your grunted, “Yo, bring me a beer.” The robotic fridge is named “Ku,” and once you mutter the magic words, it will toddle over to you and bring you a cold one. You don’t have to worry about the fridge spilling your drink or getting stuck in a corner like a drunken Roomba, either, because it has embedded sensors that let it map out the room. The fridge will even be able to navigate the room if you put the leg rest up on your La-Z-Boy, because it continuously updates the map and can move around safely without bumping into anything.  .... '

The Smart Home Moves Slowly

Daniel Cooper looks at appliances in the smart home.  We can dole out music and light relatively easily as on demand and intelligent information activity.  I have a dozen such devices in my home. But the Washers, Dryers, Frigs, Oven, Ironing Boards, Food prep stations, Bars and related task orientations are are still hard to do robotically.  And even those that make a valiant attempt in doing their job by managing the information required, are still very expensive.  And because they are expensive, they are replaced at decade long cycles.   It does not seemed to have changed much since the days of our smart home labs.  Good thoughts below.

The smart kitchen revolution is a slow one

Changes are coming.

Daniel Cooper, @danielwcooper in Engadget .... 

He reports from IFA 2017 in Berlin

Personal Assistants Come to the Fridge

Assistants spreading out through the home.   Note again that Samsung owns Harman-Kardon, which is embedding Cortana in a future smart speaker.   This is getting complex.

Samsung’s Bixby assistant is coming to smart fridges
by Ashley Carman    @ashleyrcarman

Samsung announced yesterday that it’s now preloading its Bixby virtual assistant on its Family Hub 2.0 refrigerator. The company will also roll it out via an over-the-air update for units that have already shipped, according to Pulse News Korea. The assistant will let users search for recipes and weather information with their voice. This definitely makes more sense than having to rely on the 21.5-inch LED touchscreen while in the kitchen.

Bixby launched with the new Galaxy S8 but is still only partially active in the US. Phone owners have only been able to use Bixby Vision augmented reality, Bixby Home, and the Reminders features. The full voice commands aren’t available, and we don’t know when they will be. Still, Samsung envisions its assistant being implemented in all its products, including TVs and wearables. The fridge is just the start. .... " 

For links to all my coverage of virtual assistants.

Inventory Sensing Refrigerators

A topic we took up in innovation.  Below repeated in the Verge.     If you could determine inventory and predict usage.   You could just reorder goods.  Of course the frig is not the only storage place in the kitchen.    So some suggested that you could RFID scan things as you discarded/recycled their packaging.  Several such 'smart' trashcans were marketed.   Samsung has a frig now, apparently for sale,  definitely very expensive, that says it can solve the inventory problem.    Given Amazon's recent efforts, like the Dash Button, would think that they would be interested in the approach.  Does the consumer want this?   Or does that really matter?   In The Verge: 

Wanted: An Amazon fridge that automatically reorders food
 January 18th, 2017  by Thomas Ricker .... 

See also, The FridgeCam.

More Smart Refrigerators

More (expensive) smart refrigerators are out there, and looking inwardly.  Cool looking and a conversation piece.

LG put Alexa in a refrigerator and it seems like a great idea
The company's Smart InstaView fridge puts Amazon's virtual assistant to work ordering groceries and more.   ... " 

The Non Elegance of the Refrigerator Cam

Had seen the idea proposed many times, never successfully.  Really a specific kind of sensor.  Now add image recognition to it to get inventory.    It was pointed out to me that there are many practical problems with such a sensor.  Lots of previous posts on the frig, see tag below.

FridgeCam lets you make your dumb fridge smart with a simple camera
Why replace an entire fridge when you can stick a camera inside the one you have?  by Valentina Palladino

 LAS VEGAS—Companies love to debut as many "smart" home products as possible at CES to show that Wi-Fi in anything could make your life easier. LG is a perfect example as it just announced a new smart refrigerator (pricing info not disclosed yet) and the plan to put Wi-Fi in a number of its connected appliances. But investing in the smart home doesn't mean you have to drop thousands of dollars on a whole new fridge or oven. At CES, the London-based company Smarter announced its new FridgeCam, a small circular camera you stick on the inner door of your refrigerator to monitor the food you have. ... " 

Drug Lab on Wheels

Saw some interesting proposals about altering the way drug research could be done recently, so this is particularly interesting.

A Drug Laboratory on Wheels   By Joe Dysart 

The portable drug lab could decentralize the way drugs are made.
A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a chip that allows the modulation of gene circuits to produce specific drugs, one dose at a time.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have devised a miniature drug laboratory—about the size of a college dorm-room refrigerator—that could decentralize the way drugs are made.

The lab-to-go is driven by a microfluidic chip, which modulates the fermentation of genetically altered yeast to produce a wide variety of medications.

“Our goal is to decentralize drug manufacturing and allow portable, on-demand drug production anywhere,” says Timothy K. Lu, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of synthetic biology at MIT and a lead researcher on the project.

“We believe that decentralized drug manufacturing has the potential to upend the current status quo for the drug market, and by enabling a platform akin to ‘3D printing for drugs,’ should help to drive pressure on drug costs,”  Lu says.   ... "     ... ' 

Cortana for the Smart Home

Long ago we met with MS Research about their approaches to the smart home.  Seems they had dropped that approach since then. .  Are they back again pushing standards?

The Thread Group and Open Connectivity Foundation join forces to make it easier for smart home devices to connect   By Agam Shah 

Microsoft wants to put Windows 10 at the center of smart homes. The company wants users to be able to tell the operating system's Cortana voice assistant to switch on a light, open a door, release food for a cat and even check the contents of a refrigerator. ... " 

Discussion on Samsung's $5799 Digital Frig

Good discussion on Samsung's smart Frig.  Apparently not a prototype and is for sale.  The the cost is hefty   Is the refrigerator the place for the home hub?

Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator

Samsung continues to move ahead, with smart hubs in standard appliances.  Very expensive appliances.  Such white goods appliances have the problem of dealing of synchronizing with high tech systems, which have historically evolved more quickly.   Quite a wealth of features for refrigerators, even unlikely ones that deliver music like the Echo and Sonos via Pandora and Tunein. And also ....

" ...See inside from anywhere
The Family Hub™ has three built-in cameras that take a photo every time the doors close. You can use your phone* to access photos from anywhere, so you always know what you have and what you're missing.

When it's time to get groceries, order them directly from the touchscreen with apps like Groceries by MasterCard. You can even discover new recipes and receive notifications when food is about to expire. The Family Hub™ makes it easy to stay on top of meals.  ... " 

Explored this for our innovation center, see the Appliance link below.

Samsung Suggests Large Frig Touchscreens

We experimented with having 'smart screens' on the frig,  Samsung and LG made them, but was unclear how many they sold. With the advent of the tablet, you could just hang one on the door. and  Now Samsung has put a very large touchscreen on a frig, to be shown at CES.   The Family Hub Refrigerator.   Why?  Show whats inside without opening door.  Display refrigerator art. Commission frig art.  Sell Ad space and touch to buy.   Loyalty enticements.    Link to smart home configuration?  Show when inhabitants were coming home.  Display recipes and timing? Link to smoke and entry alarms.   Show who is at the front door.  And ... ?

LG Announces Smart Home Hub

Looks like an Echo cylinder with a small screen and speaker.  But is not voice activated. AI / Cognitive?  In the past have been impressed by LG's experiments with smart appliances, we used and tested several in innovation settings.  before they could be networked.  Note the use of the Alljoyn system,  which has been mentioned for inclusion in Windows 10.   More next week at CES.

In the Verge: 
" .... The hub, announced today ahead of a demonstration at CES next week, is visually similar to Amazon's Echo, and like that device, features a large built-in speaker that can stream music. But where the Echo is only gradually moving from cool curio to useful gadget, LG is pitching the SmartThinQ as the "gateway" to your automated home, connecting to smart refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, and displaying their information on a 3.5-inch color LCD display. ...  The hub uses the open AllJoyn "internet of things" platform, connecting to other appliances — both smart and conventional — via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee ....  " 

Trillion Devices at Hand

What so we expect to do with so many devices, and many more connections?  Over many more slices of time and location?   In CWorld:  " ... Forget thinking about the Internet of Things where your coffee maker and refrigerator are connected. By 2025, we could very well live in a trillion-device world. .... That's the prediction from Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California at Berkeley.

"Smartness can be embedded everywhere," said Sangiovanni-Vincentelli. "The entire environment is going to be full of sensors of all kinds. Chemical sensors, cameras and microphones of all types and shapes. Sensors will check the quality of the air and temperatures. Microphones around your environment will listen to you giving commands." ... " 

Wirelessly Charging Devices from your Washer

An unexpected thought covered in Engadget.    " ...   WattUp technology promises to deliver power over the same radio bands as a WiFi router and is apparently able to charge a smartphone from distances of up to 15 feet. The idea, at this early stage, is to cram these power transmitters into Haier's refrigerators, washing machines and microwaves, so that you can re-juice your phone while you wait for your dinner and do your laundry. .. " 

Security on the Internet of Things

In the Cisco Blog:  (Which I have found to be very informative).   Remember the hacked refrigerator.

" ... The SANS Institute just completed a survey on the security viewpoints on IoT, predominantly with security and IT professionals.

78% of respondents were unsure of the capabilities for basic visibility and management of Things they will need to secure or lack the capability to secure them.

It seems that, like BYOD, IoT is driven with minimal IT consultation. And it happens with security as an afterthought, with 46% who do not have a policy to drive the visibility and management of IoT devices.  ... " 

Dangers fom the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things will provide new sources of data from a increasing number of devices.  The Smart Home will be a particular source of connectivity for the consumer.  But will this same connectivity open us to new security issues?  Suppose that you were attacked by your own refrigerator?  It's happening already.

Bosch and the Internet of Things

In CWorld:  With a special emphasis on Sensors and MEMs.     We experimented with several early developers in the smart appliance space.

" ... Bosch says the future is the Internet of Things  By Patrick Thibodeau

German appliance maker creates separate firm to design sensors for its own products and for the market as a whole ...

 Bosch, a company best known as a maker of appliances, including stoves, dishwashers, washing machines and coffee makers, is increasing its focus on the Internet of Things.
Germany-based Bosch has created a new firm, Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions, "for the Internet of things and services. ...

The Internet of Things will deliver its benefits gradually, one appliance upgrade at a time.
Sensor rich devices monitoring Web-enabled apps can put the worried homeowner at ease. 'Did I remember to turn the stove off before leaving the house? Is the refrigerator door open?' The Internet of Things will provide the answer.Bosch says the future is the Internet of Things
German appliance maker creates separate firm to design sensors for its own products and for the market as a whole ... " 

Mobile Apps Drive Smart Homes

In GigaOM:  Expectes 21.5 million in US and Europe by 2017.  The definition is still somewhat uncertain.  We continue to experiment with the idea, after starting in 2001, to see how it might influence CPG product demand.   As expected, these are driven by smartphone apps.  Also discovered, that information technology and housing technologies evolve at different rates.   In examining such systems as refrigerators, we found that consumers expected a them to last 15 years, while info tech changes in n 18 month cycle. Who can afford to rip out smart house installations?