While smart refrigerators are starting to take the home automation market by storm, they are often over priced and bogged down with too many features. These appliances offer innovative designs to households that can afford them, but they are completely inaccessible to hard working families that cannot afford the extra expense of updating their smart home with the newest Samsung refrigerator. Human-centered designs and, most importantly, readily available fresh food shouldn't be limited to individuals with high incomes.
Root is an app that allows full control over the food in your refrigerator or pantry. When paired with the Root product, the user can view their current inventory: they can look at expiration dates & view how much of each food they have left. If low on supplies, the user may then select which foods they would like to purchase, and which store to purchase from, right within the app. The food will then be delivered straight to their door—fresh and ready for consumption. Root is the minimalist alternative that consumers can choose if they desire a life free of user interfaces that provide too many services, such as TV channels, internet browsers, and music players.
To expand on the idea of a technologically connected yet minimalist lifestyle, the product itself is designed to have as little interaction with the user as possible. The app includes only the essentials required to create seamless interactions between the user & their product. It is connected by a smart home hub, uses RFID technology to log the user's inventory, and conveniently updates the app any time the RFID & weight sensors pick up a change in the inventory. The packaging that the product is sold in is sourced from recycled cardboard that is dyed with natural, organic dyes, to reduce the amount of paper & ink waste in the printing process.
