[shrike]

My fridge. A simple barcode reader I can scan an item with when I use the last of it. We could develop applications that add it to a offline or online shipping list, track the amount of 'item' we eat every month, our spend etc.

We could complicate things a bit more with two barcode readers, one when we add an item to the fridge, another when it's empty. That would let us find recipes based on what's available in the fridge or even what's available and likely to expire soon.

Barcode readers everywhere! Extend the same idea to the pantry, under the sinks, etc.

This is the closest I've seen to date - https://fresh.amazon.com/dash/

[HeyLaughingBoy]

I keep hearing about this idea, but most of the stuff in my fridge doesn't have a barcode. Either it never did (fruit, veggies), or it's worn off or the external packaging was removed. And then there's the fact that I don't always want the same thing (out of Smucker's strawberry jam, but want Minnesota State Fair Cherry preserves (mmmmm) to replace it).

Still don't get the appeal.

[hacknat]

I agree completely. When people talk about the fridge idea I've always scratched my head about it. First of all a good chunk of my food never sees the inside of the fridge. I would also add that the vast majority of items we "run out" of we end up not replacing, at least consistently. I consistently replace only a small amount of the food I consume (milk, butter, bread), and I suspect others are similar.

I'm sure I have some patterns in my eating habits, but it's an area of my life I'm constantly trying to randomize (i.e. try new things). I would also add that seasonality plays a huge role, both in what is available and cheap, which a computer could track, but my own desire for changes. I went through a cheese "phase" last year where I tried lots of different cheeses, but I don't really eat too much cheese anymore. Now I'm in a Bourbon phase.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

Which is, if I may add, an excellent phase to be in :-)

[lost_name]

Just a thought, but you could do this with a smart phone right now. I understand the implementation would be different integrated into the fridge, but maybe you could throw something together to see if you'd really like to do this after all.

I'm of the opinion that the value is immediately lost when I forget to scan things, which would almost certainly be the normal rather than the exception.

Edit: I should have assumed this already existed -- there's several apps on the Android/iOS/Windows Phone stores.

[dm2]

Remember CueCat? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat

I see no harm in trying something similar again, it might work if done right, would need to be wireless.

[jrvarela56]

Check out https://github.com/danslimmon/oscar if you're interested in working on a prototype!