Fridge fridge on the wall: what can I cook for us all?: an HMI study for an intelligent fridge

New technologies have changed our life, making everyday tasks easier and faster. This new style of living requires a new kind of distribution of cognitive processes, resources and information. Trends in appliance design propose more sophisticated control and networking capabilities. Current white goods may be equipped with complex softwares and GUIs, that may be inputted, by mobile phones. The ZmartFRI project aims at developing a seamless technology with an interactive fridge surface, assuring simplicity and intuitiveness of interaction. The fridge surface equipped with a display and an effective GUI provides more than additional memory device supporting human activities and providing opportunities to reorganize what is known. Thanks to a coupled display system between the fridge and the user mobile device, the fridge is able to alert products expiration date, to suggest recipes, to fill in and send by sms or email the shopping list, to send and post messages for the house residents.