Concept refrigerator chills based on content

Impress aims to alter the way we think about refrigeration.

(Credit:Screenshot by Christopher MacManus/CNET)

Over the last few decades, refrigerators haven't changed all that much in one key area -- shape. Sure, the hulking mass of steel keeps our perishables fresh while boasting improved efficiency and other bells and whistles, but it's still just a big block that takes up a considerable amount of space in the kitchen.

Concept products such as the Impress refrigerator by Massey University industrial design student Ben de la Roche of New Zealand could influence the way future iceboxes keep food and drinks cool.

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Instead of the conventional cooling cube, Impress adapts its refrigeration to the content within. A honeycomb layout of sliding pins allows the user to insert food, containers, and drinks into the futuristic refrigerator individually. This in turn gives a massive boost to efficiency, as Impress only chills the items that occupy the pins. In theory, aside from using less electricity, Impress would also use less harmful gases (CFCs) to chill items.

de la Roche submitted the idea to the 2012 Electrolux Design Lab competition and qualified as a finalist, beating out more than 1,200 submissions from aspiring designers. He presents the idea to a panel of Electrolux judges in Milan, Italy, on October 25.

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A view to the future with the Electrolux Design Lab 2012 semifinalists

Ingresure by Jongwoo Choi is a concept kitchen helper that is part of the Electrolux Design Lab 2012 competition.

(Credit:Electrolux Design Lab/Jongwoo Choi)

The Electrolux Design Lab is a yearly competition that challenges design students across the globe. This year's competition asked students to create home appliances that would "provide a fuller sensory experience." Perhaps one day, some of these entries will be used in the home kitchen. Below are a few highlights:

Ingresure (seen above) is by Jongwoo Choi. It is a gadget designed to be a taste tester. Instead of chef's tasting their own creation, they would use the device to taste it for them. The idea is that the Ingresure would give amateur chefs the assurance that they were following a recipe correctly. The Tastee (pictured below) from Christopher Holm-Hansen is another similar concept that also relies on taste sensors to assist home chefs.

The Tastee from Christopher Holm-Hansen would use "receptors based on the human taste bud" and then make suggestions about what ingredients to add.

(Credit:Electrolux Design Lab/Christopher Holm-Hansen)

The Fridge Nose (below) by Vilius Dringelis would be a refrigerator magnet that knows what is going on inside the fridge. Designed to keep track of perishables, the unobtrusive gadget would rely on sensors placed in the refrigerator to monitor food. When foods expire, the device would alert users, without the need to test the real thing.

The Fridge Nose by Vilius Dringelis may one day be able to tell you if the contents of the refrigerator are about to expire.

(Credit:Electrolux Design Lab/Vilius Dringelis)

Combining food storage with cooking, Treat by Amy Mon-Chu Liu is a device that can be controlled remotely by a mobile device. As a food storage unit, the appliance would keep food under a vacuum seal, and the containers would change colors as food freshness deteriorated, until eventually it would fall from the treelike structure. Food preparation could be controlled via a mobile app that could start the cooking process for individual pods remotely.

When food falls off the Treat by Amy Mon-Chu Liu, it is a treat no longer.

(Credit:Electrolux Design Lab/Amy Mon-Chu Liu)

Using haptic technology, the Smart Embossed Blender by HwaJin Ock would provide feedback to users by manipulating the handle of the stick blender. As the consistency of the blended food or beverage changes, the handle of the blender would alter its texture to suit. The idea would be that users could sense when their food or beverage has reached the desired consistency.

The Smart Embossed Blender by HwaJin Ock would provide users feedback by physically manipulating the feel of the handle.

(Credit:Electrolux Design Lab/HwaJin Ock)

As with any design competition, some cuts will have to be made. Electrolux has posted a list of 30 semifinalists. Of the list, 10 will be chosen for the final held in Milan on October 25.

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