By now most of us have seen those LCD screens on the front of many new refrigerators. You can make a shopping list while you are standing at your refrigerator and send it to your smart phone or tablet so you have it with you at the store. The fridge will also play music, check the weather, and more. That may sound spectacular, but with artificial intelligence (AI) coming to the home, and the kitchen in particular, you haven’t seen anything yet.
LG is one company that has invested heavily in AI for the home. Imagine talking to an Amazon-Echo-like device called CLOI. But this device does more than just respond. It’s also your alarm, so it knows when you wake up, or when you are planning too, and can start your coffee brewing.
You walk towards the kitchen and ask what your schedule is like for the day. CLOI tells you that you will be playing tennis in the afternoon, and that the neighbors are coming for dinner at six.
Now for the really helpful parts. Based on patterns of behavior you have exhibited in the past the cloud-based-AI knows that you wash you tennis clothes as soon as you come home from playing and what cycle you use on the washer and dryer. The little device informs you that it has preset your washer and dryer for the sports cycle.
You ask CLOI what is for dinner. CLOI has learned from the refrigerator that you purchased shellfish, steak and chicken when you went shopping last. It will automatically check the expiration date on those products and others and make suggestions based on what you have in the refrigerator. It may even know that your neighbor has a shellfish allergy; you mentioned this to CLOI two weeks ago but have since forgotten. Factoring all this information together, CLOI suggests Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner. For hors d’oeuvres CLOI suggests stuffed mushrooms.
Next CLOI may check your wine cooler and suggest that you pick up a California Chardonnay which pairs well with butter, chicken breasts, garlic, and pepper, all of which are in the entrée.
Sometime before dinner starts, CLOI will start the air filter system, adjust the temperature settings on the air conditioner or heater, and start playing soft background music.
While this may sound like science fiction, these products do exist and where demonstrated at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV just this year. While the products are not all on consumer shelves yet, watch for them and others like them in the near future.
