Samsung and LG unveil smart fridges that use AI to suggest recipes based on the available ingredients and create weekly meal plans at CES 2020
- Samsung’s new Family Hub refrigerator scans contents and offers recipe ideas
- LG’s new fridges offer recipe suggestions and produces trendy spherical ice
- LG fridges also let users browse the internet and watch videos without needing an accompanying smartphone or tablet
Samsung and LG are going head to head with their new smart fridges that scan the inside of the fridge and offer meal suggestions at CES 2020 this week.
The smart fridges use updated AI technology that not only recognise food inside and send smartphone updates, but make meal suggestions based on available ingredients.
The updates mean Samsung and LG smart fridge users get a little help with planning what to cook for the week.
The technology is another step towards the fully-automated kitchen of the future, where users don’t even have to think about mealtimes because the machines do it all for you.
Samsung’s Family Hub features new AI capabilities that suggest recipes and works out meal plans
Samsung’s next-generation refrigerator in its Family Hub range uses AI-enhanced cameras to scan the contents of the fridge and suggests recipes based on what you have in stock.
Previous iterations of the Family Hub range allowed users to remotely view the inside of their fridge on their smartphone thanks to inbuilt cameras.
The new updates for 2020 now makes Family Hub even more useful by suggesting recipes and helping users formulate a weekly meal plan while keeping in mind dietary preferences.
AI image recognition technology scans and identifies products inside the fridge and sends updates on items that have been added or are in low supply.
The Quick Plan feature offers a week’s worth of recommended recipes with just one click.
If you’re short of ingredients to cook, the AI sends users a shopping list of the ingredients they’ll need to stock up on.
‘Since we launched Family Hub five years ago, we have continued to introduce intelligent innovations that reflect the ways that busy, modern families are living,’ said Nick Bevan, Head of Product Management for Domestic Appliances, Samsung Electronics UK.
‘The latest Family Hub helps families stay connected like never before with personalised features for meal planning, managing your smart home and mirroring content from your TV or mobile device.’
The food-suggestion updates are thanks to Samsung’s acquisition of Whisk, an AI food startup from the UK that collates ingredients and recipe data.
Samsung has also updated the Family Board, a communal bulletin board for family members to interact with, to support video clips.
The update lets family members transfer videos from their smartphone to the refrigerator, letting family members ‘relive important memories’ while they cook.
Samsung has also updated its SmartView feature to support vertical smartphone videos and social media content.
SmartView lets smartphones act as a remote control for Samsung TVs and mirrors content on the two devices.
Samsung says the new Family Hub features will be available as software updates this spring.
InstaView with Craft Ice is the first refrigerator in the world with a built-in ice maker that produces spherical ice which melts much more slowly, LG says
LG, meanwhile, has two new fridges on display at CES in Las Vegas this week – both with a transparent glass panel that acts as digital display.
The company is updating its ‘InstaView ThinQ’ range of fridges with a feature much like Samsung’s, offering meal suggestions based on available ingredients.
It also alerts homeowners when they’re running low on items and suggests options for reordering them, such as available retailers.
Its AI system tracks every item inside the fridge, including in the crisper drawers and the extra ‘door in door’ shelf inside the fridge’s front door.
The company’s other offering, ‘InstaView with Craft Ice’ fridge, has a built-in ice maker that produces spherical ice – a favourite of today’s hipster bartenders.
According to LG, the ice balls are two inches in diameter and melt slower in a drink than ice cubes, due to a lower surface area.
The LG smart fridge panel is a 22-inch display for browsing the internet and watching cooking videos via Wi-Fi without a separate smartphone or tablet
InstaView with Craft Ice has already been rolled out in the US and will now be made available in additional markets in 2020.
Both of the LG fridges feature a glass front panel, which not only lets users look inside the fridge without opening the door, but also doubles as a 22-inch display to browse the internet and play cooking videos without an accompanying smartphone.
‘Our goal at CES 2020 is to show what’s possible in tomorrow’s kitchens with LG InstaView refrigerators and AI,’ said Dan Song, president of the LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solution Company.
‘With technology quickly transforming boring white boxes into exciting machines that can create craft ice, plan dinner and create shopping lists, our advanced refrigerators with ThinQ are designed for customers who appreciate any help they can get in the kitchen.’
The fridges are equipped with LG’s ThinQ smart home brand, which also monitors their temperature and sends alerts if it detects an unusual increase in temperature, if the water filter needs replacing or if the fridge door is left open.
Both Samsung and LG’s new refrigerators are being exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, which kicks off on Tuesday.
WHAT IS EXPECTED AT CES 2020?
By: Press Association
The annual convention will see the likes of Sony, Samsung and LG unveil new products, alongside thousands of other firms showing off their latest innovations at the four-day event.
Artificial intelligence, 5G and robotics are expected to be among the biggest talking points when the world’s largest technology show – CES – begins tomorrow.
It opens on Tuesday January 7 in Las Vegas.
High-profile figures from Apple and Facebook will also appear together on stage during the show to discuss the tech industry’s approach to data privacy – a topic the firms have previously clashed over in the past.
CES is a key date in the industry calendar, with more than 170,000 people expected to attend and more than 20,000 new devices set to be unveiled.
Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump and an adviser to her father’s administration, is also due to appear at the show.
Gadgets ranging from new televisions to drones, connected appliances and robots are all likely to feature heavily on the show floor, while foldable smartphones – which rose to prominence during 2019 – could also be a theme among the new devices unveiled as firms attempt to gain traction in that emerging market.
The convention, which has run since 1967, has a history of being the site of the launch of notable technology – including the DVD and HD television.
Show organisers have also highlighted that the 2020 show will see a number of ‘non-traditional’ companies not known for their work in the tech sector appearing at the event.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Impossible Foods and agricultural machinery giant John Deere are among those confirmed for CES.
CES has also committed to continue working to improve diversity at the show, following criticism in recent years that its line-up of keynote speakers has failed to showcase equality.
Jean Foster, the senior vice president for marketing and communications at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) – which organises CES – said diversity was an industry-wide issue but confirmed CES had created an advisory board to help improve representation among its keynote speakers.
‘We take this platform very, very seriously and we want to drive the industry forward,’ she told the PA news agency last year.
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