Once you’re comfy on the sofa, there’s nothing worse than having to tear yourself away to grab a snack from the fridge.
But having to move from your seat could soon be a thing of the past, if Panasonic’s latest ‘Movable Fridge’ prototype is brought to life.
Panasonic has revealed what it believes is the fridge of the future – a device on wheels that can navigate its way around your kitchen autonomously.
The device comes to you when you call it, can provide you with food and drinks and can even clear away your dirty dishes.
Panasonic has revealed what it believes is the fridge of the future – a device on wheels that can navigate its way around your kitchen autonomously
Panasonic showed the futuristic fridge at the IFA conference in Berlin today, on its ‘Better Living Tomorrow’ stand.
The simple white fridge responds to voice commands, such as ‘Come to the living room’, or ‘Go to the kitchen table.’
It then navigates its way to your chosen destination autonomously.
The device learns the layout of the kitchen, but can also respond to unexpected items in its path.
The device is linked to a database that provides details about every bottle of in your Panasonic fridge.
It can then offer up suggestions about the best food to go with your beverage.
It also responds to voice commands and moves around the house to deliver your food and beverages.
A spokesperson for Panasonic told MailOnline: ‘The fridge can see things up to 15 centimetres (6 inches) ahead of it.
‘So you wouldn’t need to worry about it bumping into your children or pets.’
As well as storing food, the fridge can also be filled with dirty dishes and take these over to the dishwasher to be cleaned.
While it is currently a prototype, Panasonic suggests that it won’t be long before we see the fridge in production.
As well as storing food, the fridge can also be filled with dirty dishes and take these over to the dishwasher to be cleaned
While it is currently a prototype, Panasonic suggests that it won’t be long before we see the fridge in production
The Panasonic spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘I think the fridges could be in production within five or six years.’
Earlier this month, Panasonic revealed it had created an app-controlled self-driving wheel chair that can take users around the airport and even bring their luggage in a separate wireless vehicle behind them.
Designed specifically for navigating crowded areas, the smart wheel chair also has several other features that make it perfect for airports, such as the ability to link to sensor-equipped luggage carts that automatically follow the wheelchair without getting lost.
Earlier this month, Panasonic revealed it had created an app-controlled self-driving wheel chair that can take users around the airport and even bring their luggage in a separate wireless vehicle behind them
The WHILL NEXT uses sensors and image recognition to detect obstacles and navigate the airport.
‘Using autonomous mobility technology developed for the autonomous delivery robot HOSPI, the wheelchair can identify its own position, select routes and automatically move to destinations input via smartphones,’ said a spokesperson from Panasonic.
‘It can travel specifically to shops or boarding gates.’