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LG clears things up with InstaView fridge's transparent display

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LG's Smart InstaView Door-in-Door refrigerator lets you see what's inside from near or far
The LG Smart InstaView refrigerator sports a touch display, Wi-Fi-enabled features powered by webOS, and Amazon's Alexa voice service
The LG Smart InstaView refrigerator
The LG Smart InstaView refrigerator has a display that turns transparent
LG's Smart InstaView Door-in-Door refrigerator lets you see what's inside from near or far
The LG Smart InstaView refrigerator
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LG has been at the vanguard of connected fridges since 2004 when it unveiled its Internet Refrigerator. Despite not exactly becoming a must-have for the kitchen, LG and others have persisted and this year sees the introduction of the LG InstaView Door-in-Door refrigerator. The 29-inch touch LCD display on the door of the fridge is powered by LG's webOS smart platform and allows access to various smart fridge features we've seen before, like calling up recipes and leaving memos for other family members.

However, the display can also turn transparent with two knocks of the screen to reveal what's inside. And if you're out at the shops and need to check your stocks, there's a 2-megapixel panoramic super-wide-lens camera that will send pictures of the interior to your phone. The new fridge also sees the integration of Amazon's Alexa Voice Service, which enables ordering of groceries, searching for recipes, playing music and other smart home functions to be handled hands-free via voice.

Using LG's Smart Tag system, users can add stickers and tags to items on the screen not only to indicate which foods are stored where, but also supports the entering of expiration dates so the fridge can issue reminders as foods near their expiration date.

The fridge also features the door-in-door design that allows regularly accessed items to be placed in the door that can be opened without cold air leaking from the main compartment.

Source: LG

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2 comments
Wolf0579
One of the biggest energy wasters in the home is the fridge. If only designers would think in terms of keeping the cold air from spilling out onto the floor when it's opened (think chest freezer), we could save a lot of wasted energy and money. The see-through door idea is a very good one. It eliminates the time spent looking in the fridge while holding the door open. But it still doesn't adress the fact that all of the chilled air falls out as soon as the door is opened. The inverse is true for oven technology, where we expend considerable energy to heat air, then when we open the door, it all spills out onto the ceiling. Ovens could use a major re-think as well.
Dan Lewis
Wow. This is weird. Samsung is offering a somewhat similar machine, but it seems neither of them let you get a visual image of the contents in the refrigerator by either the screen on the machine or remotely. Strange.