Amazon could be working on a smart fridge, as per a new report. The project is known internally as “Project Pulse,” and is reportedly being developed by Amazon’s “physical-store” unit that came up with Amazon Go stores.
According to Business Insider, this new smart fridge will have the ability to track the user’s purchase habits and existing inventory. Moreover, the device could also track expiration dates and predict what the user wants and have it delivered automatically.
Some other use cases include recommending recipes based on what you have in the fridge, while also improving the ability to order groceries from Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods stores.
The Amazon smart fridge could have the upper hand over Samsung & LG smart fridges
The report claims that Amazon has been working on this for at least two years. The project is apparently led by Gopi Prashanth, Amazon’s Director of Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence.
There’s no timeline for the release of this new smart fridge, but the report claims that Amazon could partner with other manufacturers for its production. When asked about the report, an Amazon spokesperson told The Verge, “We don’t comment on rumors or speculation.”
If plans for Project Pulse materialize, Amazon would be well placed in the segment thanks to its vast network of stores. It has already used computer vision to accurately identify grocery items at its Amazon Go stores.
While brands like LG and Samsung already have smart fridges, Amazon’s offering could have a distinct advantage in the marketplace. A smart fridge could also fulfill Amazon’s vision to have more Alexa-powered smart home products in households across the globe.
As is the case with internal projects, it’s likely that Amazon will never release the product. With this in mind, we recommend taking this report with a grain of salt. But with a company like Amazon, no rumor sounds unreasonable.
In September 2018, the company unveiled an Alexa-powered microwave under its AmazonBasics brand. It also offered a built-in Dash button for popcorn. What’s even better was the fact that Amazon offered this microwave for only $59.99.
Alexa has witnessed several changes since its launch several years ago. It currently stands on the top of the voice assistant hierarchy along with Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri.