Magazine: Smart refrigerators and washing machines in the virtual world

At the beginning of every year technology lovers gather in Las Vegas to see the debut of the latest innovations in consumer electronics. Rather surprisingly this year many visitors were disappointed, saying that in the future it would be enough to visit CES every second or third year. There were hardly any revolutionary new ideas presented in Las Vegas. The industry is in a funny state at the moment: the latest solutions aren’t very trendy any more, while consumers have to wait a couple of more years for the really cool things to come out.

To be fair, there were a couple of new technologies at the CES which are worthy of attention. For instance L’Oréal invented a wearable, heart-shaped skin patch that monitors how much UV you are exposed to. One patch can be worn for 5 days and the measured UV level can be read using a smartphone app.

There were also smart washing machines and refrigerators at CES. Samsung cooperated with Mastercard to create Samsung Family Hub: a fridge that also serves as a television set, a media centre and a shopping centre – using the touchscreen on the refrigerator, consumers can already order groceries from two online stores in the USA. Both Samsung and LG showcased smart washing machines, devices that can be controlled using a touchscreen or via smartphone. LG’s washing machine can wash two loads simultaneously at different temperatures. Samsung’s washing smart machine can be stopped any time while washing to throw in new pieces of clothing.