Self-shopping refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current refrigerator systems fail to effectively identify and recommend consumption of food items before they become stale, leading to food wastage and unhealthy eating habits, while also being inefficient in assisting users with timely procurement and healthier food choices.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator system equipped with a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), and a camera that captures images of food items to analyze their quantity, quality, and kind, providing diet recommendations and updating shopping lists to minimize waste and promote healthier eating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If manual food monitoring and shopping list management is used, then users have control over food procurement, but users spend considerable time in food procurement and logistics operation
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator system automatically monitors food items using cameras and sensors, generates shopping lists based on inventory analysis, and tracks expiration dates without requiring manual user intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously performing food inventory management tasks that would otherwise require significant user time and effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations (users physically checking food, writing shopping lists) with automated electronic systems including cameras, image processing algorithms, and computer-generated shopping lists. This substitution eliminates the time-consuming manual monitoring while maintaining comprehensive food management.
2Reliability
If users rely on visual inspection to identify stale food, then simple detection method is used, but users may misjudge stale food and jeopardize health
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces unreliable human visual inspection with automated image recognition technology using cameras and computer vision algorithms. These electronic systems objectively analyze food appearance, color changes, and texture to reliably detect staleness without the subjectivity and health risks associated with manual sensory evaluation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer of image processing technology between the user and food inspection. Instead of users directly examining food, the camera system captures images and algorithms analyze them to determine food freshness, providing an indirect but more reliable assessment that protects user health.
3Loss of substance
If no automated food identification system is used, then refrigerator structure remains simple, but food wastage increases due to inability to track and recommend consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously captures images of food items, analyzes their condition and expiration status, and provides feedback through shopping list updates and consumption recommendations. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the refrigerator to actively prevent food wastage by alerting users to consume items before they spoil, justifying the added system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of food items using image recognition to identify their contents, quantity, and freshness status before users need to act. By pre-processing this information and generating shopping lists in advance, the system prevents food wastage through proactive monitoring rather than reactive response.
4Productivity
If users manually prepare electronic shopping lists, then shopping process can be organized, but considerable time is spent in preparation
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator system automatically generates shopping lists by monitoring its own inventory through camera-based image recognition. The system identifies missing items, calculates required quantities, and prepares the shopping list without user intervention, transforming the shopping list from a manual chore into an automated utility that improves productivity while eliminating time investment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses image copying technology where cameras capture visual information of food items and algorithms create digital representations. This copied visual data is then processed to generate shopping lists, replacing the need for users to manually create lists from scratch and significantly improving preparation efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a refrigerator system, a method and a software program product for controlling and/or advising a diet for a user. The refrigerator system has a refrigerator including a light and a camera that captures an image of contents of the refrigerator. The image is processed by a graphics processing unit (GPU) integrated with the refrigerator and/or a cloud server. The GPU analyses the image to recognise a quantity, a quality, and/or a kind of food articles and/or food packages such as, vegetables, fruits, beverages, etc. A central processing unit (CPU)/GPU of the refrigerator provides diet plans, recipe recommendations, identifies grocery replenishment requirements, updates and shares shopping lists with food delivery agents, etc., based on the analysis of the refrigerator contents. The invention helps in minimizing food wastage, expanding meal options considering expiry dates, and maximizing benefits of a healthy diet by recommending and controlling the user's diet.