At the January 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2024) in Las Vegas, Samsung Electronics unveiled the Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™+.
A global leader in home appliances, Samsung’s four “Core Tech” values — “Outstanding,” “AI-Powered,” “Flexible Use” and “Durable & Sustainable” — are guiding the direction of the company’s product development.
Recognizing artificial intelligence as central to innovation, Samsung is developing a range of devices with AI capabilities as part of a comprehensive strategy of leveraging AI technology in future products.
During January 8 and January 9 press conferences at CES 2024, Samsung presented a number of new AI-enabled products including an induction cooktop, a washer and dryer combo, a slide-in range, various consumer electronics, and, of course, the Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator.
As with Samsung’s other new products, the Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator incorporates a variety of innovative AI technologies aimed at enhancing its intuitiveness and convenience.
Bespoke is an adjective that means custom-made or tailored to fit a particular person or purpose. For example, a bespoke suit is a suit that is made to measure for a specific customer. Bespoke software is software that is designed and developed according to the specific requirements of a client. With respect to Samsung’s Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator, bespoke references the refrigerator's exterior panels, which are customizable.
Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator
The Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator uses an internal camera that recognizes up to 33 different and constantly changing food items. This “AI Vision Inside” suggests recipes based on those food items, displaying the recipes on a 32-inch screen encased in the refrigerator’s exterior panel.
Users can set “use by dates” for food items on the screen and the 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator will send a notification when the expirations date approaches. This environmentally conscious and budget conscious feature reduces food waste and saves money.
Samsung relies on advanced sensor technology, such as LiDAR and 3D sensors, in its AI home appliances. Though invisible, these sensors play a critical role in collecting signals and data to strengthen artificial intelligence algorithms, says Moohyung Lee, EVP and Head of the Customer Experience Team, Digital Appliances (DA) Business at Samsung Electronics. By using sensors to continuously accumulate analytics (and leveraging AI to learn user behavior) Samsung appliances can function as consumers wish without requiring manual intervention. The Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator, alone, collects nearly 300 signals.
Users can also watch YouTube videos on the refrigerator screen, for entertainment or instruction.
The 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator even has a Fridge Manager feature which monitors the status of the refrigerator’s water filter and sends an alert when the filter needs replacing.
AI Family Hub™+
The AI Family Hub™+ connects the 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator to the Samsung Food app, which analyzes recipes, standardizes their format, and organizes them to create shopping lists based on their ingredients. The app itself also has several new AI features:
“Personalize” feature. Users can modify recipes to suit their dietary needs – gluten-free, pescatarian, dairy-free, and other diets – using the “Personalize” function powered by Food AI.
“Image-to-Recipe” feature. As described above, with the help of Vision AI, the “Image-to-Recipe” feature can now identify meals that can be prepared using items in the refrigerator.
“Tailored Meal Plan” feature. By connecting to users’ Samsung Health accounts, the “Tailored Meal Plan” analyzes their data and generates customized meals according to their wellness preferences.
After meal plans and recipes have been generated, users can then send cooking instructions to other kitchen appliances … with just a few keystrokes.
The AI Centerpiece Of A Smart Kitchen Ecosystem
Samsung envisions the Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™+ as the center piece of a seamless and intuitive smart kitchen ecosystem that links AI features in Samsung kitchen appliances to the Samsung Food app.
Using AI-driven technology to facilitate such simple and useful connected experiences, Samsung aims to improve people’s daily lives.
In the meantime, the innovative devices themselves remain unobtrusively “in the background.”
If you'd like to read more please see: "Samsung’s ‘AI for All’ Vision Unveiled at CES 2024," from the Samsung Newsroom published January 9, 2024. "[Interview] Leading Innovation With AI-Powered, Smart Home Appliances [Samsung Home Appliances Core Tech Part 3]" from the Samsung Newsroom published January 23, 2024. "Samsung Electronics To Showcase How Enhanced AI and Connectivity Enable Expansive Kitchen Experiences at CES 2024" from the Samsung Newsroom (Canada) published February 1, 2024.
K. ("Kristen") Powell is a technical writer and ghost writer for a firm that represents advanced degree STEM professionals, many of whom work on the cutting edge of AI and robotics. While fascinated by the research and the high-tech innovations she learns about through her professional life, in her personal life Kristen seeks simplicity and a welcoming and uncluttered home.