The Appliance Of Science

You may already have heard about fridges designed to monitor what you use and produce a shopping list to restock. Appliance designers have take the idea further, with designs for a variety of 'clever' household devices. In some cases you will be able to talk to them over the Internet and in others they will talk to themselves. One example given was the clock that instructs the coffee maker to brew up a pot 10 minutes before the alarm goes off. ( I always thought the teasmade was designed years ago....) Another convenience design is the microwave that sets the cooking time by reading the bar code on the packaging (saves at least 1 min in your busy schedule). The companies claim this is just the beginning in the wave of smart appliances that should be in shops next year, including the scale that monitors your weight, suggesting recipes to help you achieve your goal.

The one we found already on the web as an exhibitor at the Housewares Show 2000 in Chicago was Sunbeam's Portion Control Food Scales that measures fat, calories, cholesterol, sodium, fibre and kilo-joules for 500 food items - visit http://www.sunbeam.com/

http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/toast011800.htm