Imagine if your fridge could shoot you a text message telling you it's out of milk or you need to stock up on Tabasco sauce. Do you seem very far fetched? Microsoft has partnered with Liebherr's device division to build a Cortana refrigerator device that does just that.
Both companies are working on the latest version of SmartDeviceBox. You can integrate it into any Liebherr refrigerator or freezer, connecting them to the Internet. It will include a camera that will intelligently identify the contents and inform the user when a particular food item is running low.
Microsoft is keeping quiet about how much this will cost. They say the device is just a prototype, albeit one that shows a lot of promise. However, Microsoft says it will be modular, useful, and upgradeable.
Microsoft has already confirmed the existence of a voice module, which will allow users to add groceries to a smartphone-based shopping list simply by speaking.
Microsoft isn't the first company to enter the smart fridge space. It's certainly a niche field, but it's been around for almost 16 years. It started when LG launched the first Internet refrigerator:the Digital Internet GOD. Currently, several companies are fighting for dominance. 3 Best Smart Refrigerators You Can Buy Right Now 3 Best Smart Refrigerators You Can Buy Right Now There's a bevy of new smart refrigerator models out there as manufacturers try to give their next generation of products a new appeal. There are some great products on the market. Read More
Some of the most interesting devices have come from Samsung. Earlier in the year, it announced the Tizen-based Samsung Family Hub refrigerator. Its $5,000 pricetag isn't the only massive thing about it; features a 21.5-inch 1080p touchscreen, Amazon Alexa integration, and three built-in cameras that allow the user to view content from a companion app.
But there's something palpably exciting about this Cortana refrigerator from Redmond.
While the Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator requires you to manually check how many things you have in your fridge, Microsoft's SmartDeviceBox does it for you. It does this through its deep learning object recognition technology, which allows it to identify each individual item.
Microsoft's deep learning technology relies on artificial neural networks. These are computer programs inspired by the biological processes of the human brain, and most importantly, they can learn and improve with experience.
This sounds like science fiction, but YouTube is already using it to identify video content. YouTube will use neural networks to really understand the videos. YouTube will use neural networks to really understand the videos. Searching on YouTube can be frustrating, because YouTube doesn't view videos the way a person does. Google recently filed a patent that could change that. Read More The researchers have trained a large neural network to turn photographs into "neural paintings" that look like they were painted by famous artists. Read more.
Developers build artificial neural networks in a series of layers. The theory is that more layers would lead to better results; in this case, it would lead to a more accurate recognition of items. But there is a problem with this. As you add more layers, there is a kind of "signal degradation" and data is lost.
It's kind of like when you build a complicated computer network using really cheap routers and switches. As a packet travels through each hop, there is a chance that it will be dropped.
Microsoft research manager Jian Sun said that:
But with a bit of trial and error, Microsoft stumbled upon something it calls "residual deep webs." These are artificial neural networks that have an unprecedented number of layers. The one that Microsoft built for the ImageNet contest, which was a competition for the best program that can identify physical objects, had a colossal 152 layers .
But for artificial neural networks to be useful, users must train them. While developing the SmartDeviceBox Cortana refrigerator device, Microsoft showed the program literally millions of generic images of food products:milk cartons, ketchup bottles, pickle jars, etc. When something is placed in the refrigerator equipped with the Cortana curtain device, the program will try to identify it based on what it has seen before.
The accuracy of the artificial neural network will improve as more and more people use it. According to Microsoft's Allison Linn:
We are going to see these deep learning artificial neural networks used in more context and applications. This technology is already in several products, including Microsoft Cognitive Services Computer Vision, which can view images and annotate them. So if you show them a photo of yourself on the beach, you should be able to categorize it, determine if it's an adult image, and even determine your gender and age.
Perhaps most excitingly, Microsoft has opened up its deep learning algorithms as part of its Computational Network Toolkit (CNTK), meaning third-party developers will be able to integrate it into their programs.
It's not uncommon to hear people refer to smart fridges in a derisive way. Perhaps justifiably so. Many see them as an example of the excessive and unnecessary computerization of lice and network-controlled rice cookers:9 of the stupidest smart home gadgets. Ducks and Network Controlled Rice Cookers:9 of the Dumbest and Smartest Dye Gadgets. There are a huge number of smart home devices. that are worth your time and money. But there are also types that should never see the light of day. Here are 9 of the worst. Read more about ordinary household appliances. Who honestly wants to check their calendar or watch a movie from their fridge? Who would want to do the weekly shopping while standing next to 200 pounds of chrome buzzing around?
But I can actually see the point of this Cortana refrigerator device. Instead of focusing on doing things , Microsoft's SmartDeviceBox recognizes the importance of data and how it can empower users. He wants to tell you things .
It's still early days, and it's still a prototype, but given the nature of consumer technologies becoming obsolete after a few years, I'm glad the SmartDeviceBox is upgradable and modular. I'm glad it's just a box that fits in an ordinary refrigerator, rather than an integral part of one.
What do you think? Will you get one when the SmartDeviceBox hits the mainstream, or are you still a determined smart fridge cynic? Let me know below in the comments.
