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Made in India: An intelligent fridge
Tuesday, 25 February 2003, 20:30 IST
LUCKNOW: Can you imagine a refrigerator that points out that your food stocks are depleting? And what if it were to directly place orders with the grocer?
The day is not far when these things will actually happen, thanks to a team of scientists and students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
A leading innovative technology centre, the IIT is giving finishing touches to such gadgets.
"We have already developed gadgets that are capable of telling you about the need to restock your refrigerator, or a technical defect in the machine that is still in its nascent stage," IIT director Sanjay Dhande told IANS.
Pointing out defects, for instance, can be done "through special sensors", he said.
Terming the new range of gadgets at the institute as "intelligent products", Dhande said: "We are also working on a system in the refrigerator that will be capable of directly placing orders to the grocer or the milk vendor."
IIT, Kanpur, has already designed sophisticated electronic equipment for measuring blood pressure, heartbeat and body temperature, besides a unique anaesthesia monitoring system.
"Work is on over designing high-tech sensors that could even sound an alarm about maintenance requirements in a building."
While admitting that some such gadgets were already in use in some Western countries, he said: "What we are developing here is not only totally indigenous but also ideally suited for typical Indian conditions."
A team of two professors assisted by 10 students is working on the innovative ideas.
"Technology apart, our scientists have taken care to ensure user-friendly design and functioning, while also emphasising the aesthetics of these products," he added.
Source: IANS
Source: IANS