Future forecast: laziness ahead. Appliance designers are trying to make even eating and cooking as fool- and work-proof as possible. The fridge of the future they are designing can do it all: order food, plan your recipes, and even count your calories. This future-is-now technology is being created by a team of researchers at University of Central Lancashire (that's in England, in case your fridge hasn't told you) working with grocery delivery company Ocado. The fridge will automatically scan its contents and order groceries accordingly. It can even plan recipes around the fridge contents, designer Simon Sommerville told the Daily Mail:
"If the specific item for a recipe is not present, the refrigerator might suggest a delayed option, which allows time for delivery, or possibly attempt to find or propose a passable alternative for the missing ingredient."
It will even clean itself and its nano-tile shelves will move older food and leftovers forward so it can be used. It will also detect decomposing food, keeping those stinky fridge smells from developing and reducing waste. Dieting will be easier, too, as the fridge has a built-in scale which can weigh and determine the calorie count of your foods before and after eating, keeping a food diary of your caloric intake. Currently the fridge is just a gleam in its designer's eye---and, frankly, it seems like it will probably remain just that---but it's an interesting look at what kinds of tasks might be too much for humans of the future. Related content: Discoblog: Speed Bumps of the Future: Creepy Optical Illusion Children
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Image: Daily Mail
