The final product that I’ll be covering in IBM’s Smart Kitchen is their Super Fridge. I’m not sure the actual name that IBM gave this fridge, but Super Fridge is just the nickname I use to describe it, because to be honest I think it could kick the crap out of my refrigerator.

The Super Fridge has a list that tells you exactly what is inside your refrigerator. There is a little display monitor where you can check the inventory in your refrigerator. IBM states this saves you time. I have to disagree. I mean, sure you could click through the little menu and select meat then hot dogs and see that there are exactly 3 franks left. I’m guessing this would take about 5.8 seconds. There’s no actual benchmark for this. It’s just a number I made up. Being the investigative reporter I am, I decided to time how long it would take me to actually open up my fridge, open up the meat compartment, look at what’s in there, and close the door, using a stopwatch. I had my significant other time it. We did it several times and the average time it took to complete this action was 2.8 seconds. Not only is opening the fridge quicker, but it’s also more rewarding. Of course in actual usage typically a person gets fridge freeze where they look up for a few seconds immediately upon opening the refrigerator and peering inside it. As far as speed of checking inventory I’d say Super Fridge loses out.

The next feature of the Super Fridge is it has a sensor that tells you when the door is opened. I’m not sure how useful an annoying mechanical voice telling me “the door is open” is when I open the fridge to get some hot sauce out.

I guess the way the Super Fridge makes you spend more time with your family is by having you avoid it’s nagging voice every time you open it.