A talking fridge that tracks your diet and makes recipe suggestions is among gadgets that tech companies say could soon be an everyday part of your kitchen.
The device has a large touch screen on one of its doors and includes a robot voice assistant that responds to commands such as ‘play classical music’ or ‘read it to me’.
It also has cameras that let owners see what is inside on their smartphone if they forget what they need to buy at the shops.
Samsung are developing an interactive kitchen that includes a fridge, oven and TV. All can be controlled by a smartphone app and are designed to work with each other to create a ‘smart home’
Samsung launched its flagship smart appliance, the fridge that takes ‘shelfies’ last year.
The fridge can be loaded with a range of apps that allow it to be used as a calendar, television, music player and family notice board as well.
A series of cameras and apps work together to provide a constantly updated stream of information about your home.
The digital assistant Bixby, is designed to help manage all of that.
At the Mobile World Congress yesterday, a company spokesman said information was sent form one device to another.
He said: ‘All the devices are connected together and can be controlled using your phone.
‘So for instance if you are tracking what meals you’ve eaten, you can ask Bixby, the voice assistant, how many calories you have consumed today and ask it to suggest a recipe that will give you the rest of your recommended daily intake.
‘You can also ask it to read you the recipe steps while you are cooking, in case your hands are messy.’
The fridge is one of several shiny new appliances being shown off by the South Korean electronics giant in Barcelona this week.
The interactive ‘kitchen of the future’ includes an oven, washing machine, TV and a coffee table.
All of the firm’s household products can be controlled by a smartphone.
This means you could remotely set your oven to pre-heat while on the way home, Samsung said.
Samsung’s interactive ‘kitchen of the future’ includes an oven, washing machine, TV and a coffee table. All of the firm’s household products can be controlled by a smartphone. This means you could remotely set your oven to pre-heat while on the way home
The Samsung fridge takes pictures of the contents inside and sends it to shoppers to save them writing lists and can be controlled centrally by a smartphone app
Another smartphone app lets users take a picture of their meals, with the system recognising which type of food or dish it is and recording how many calories, vitamins and proteins it contains automatically.
It comes as many of the world’s biggest companies – including Amazon, Google and Apple – are racing to develop a plethora of so-called ‘smart’ devices for the home.
They include locks, dog collars, thermostats, robot vacuum cleaners and even light bulbs, all with one thing in common: They can be controlled by a smartphone.
A sign of the cash these firms think they can make came on Tuesday when Amazon was revealed to have shelled out more than £870 million ($1.2 billion) for an American company that makes video doorbells and security cameras.
Ben Wood, a consumer electronics expert at CCS Insight, said these products may look like a ‘gimmick’ to some people, but he added: ‘The reality is that over the next three to five years almost everything in our lives is going to become connected and the home will be an important place for that.
Many of the world’s biggest companies – including Amazon, Google and Apple – are racing to develop a plethora of so-called ‘smart’ devices for the home. They include locks, dog collars, thermostats, robot vacuum cleaners and even light bulbs
‘In the UK you’ve already got more than one million households using Amazon’s Echo devices.
‘How far it will keep going, and how quickly, is the big question.
‘But although people are still buying smart home devices in relatively small numbers, and mainly for control of their thermostats or lighting at the moment, we are seeing huge interest in other devices like smart doorbells and locks.
‘This is something that is still in its early days but all the big players are getting involved.’