Interactive Fridge: A Solution for Preventing Domestic Food Waste

• Published in: Inclusive Smart Cities and e-Health pp. 361 - 366
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Van Nhan, Nguyen, Thi Hoa, Huynh, Tai Tien, Nguyen, Van Hai, Stigberg, Susanne Koch
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 2015
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Consumer behavior; Design thinking; Food waste; Human-computer interaction; Interaction design; Interactive fridge; Visualization
• ISBN: 9783319193113; 3319193112
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-19312-0_36

This paper presents a design study of an interactive fridge aimed at encouraging people to prevent domestic food waste. The project implemented a prototype which consists of three main objects: i) Stickers help grouping similar food together; ii) Sliders visualize food expiration date into colors in order to help people be aware of food states; iii) LCD Screen provides graphic and sound feedback when people use their fridge to make the fridge more fun to use. To ground our design, we used design thinking as a guideline process. We evaluated the prototype using qualitative analysis of interview data. The findings show that the prototype motivated people grouping food and increased their awareness of the availability of food items in the fridge, the prototype also encouraged people in using food before expiration date. This paper offers three main contributions. Firstly, we identified three major problems that lead to domestic food waste. Secondly, we proposed a new design to address the problems. Thirdly, we applied design thinking as a design method to solve problems that related to domestic food waste.