Jon's Network

Lynne Kiesling at Knowledge Problem imagines a refrigerator that is not only a kitchen appliance but also a network appliance.

By equipping refrigerators with an IP address and a web interface we could tell them to do things like ordering a new filter from a specified vendor at the appropriate time. Where it gets interesting is when you can also set power consumption policies based on the price of energy, time of day, contents of fridge and more.

I would like to have a fridge that would take an inventory of its contents and my cupboards (RFID anyone?) on a regular basis, compare that to my shopping list that it has access to over the network, place an order at my grocery stores, who then deliver the goods to my door.

As far as autonomous controls saving energy goes, her idea reminds me of an existing product by Lumisys that controls the brightness of the lights in a room, say a classroom or office, based on the the amount of daylight, how many people are in the room and where they are sitting. Lights near the window are dimmer than lights further away. If a cloud covers up the sun, the lights brighten automatically. Really cool stuff and usually a good idea for new construction.