Smart Refrigerator Based on Internet of Things (IoT)
An Approach to Efficient Food Management
Shadeeb Hossain
College of Science and Engineering
Central Michigan University
Mt Pleasant, MI 48859, USA
shadeebhossain@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on the technology of the smart refrigerator
connected through the Internet of Things (IoT) platform. It deals with
the issue of food wastage and efficient food distribution through a
network of connected refrigerators within a defined neighborhood.
This paper defines the three-layer architecture: front-end layer,
gateway layer and the back-end layer that can allow the
implementation of the system. This low-cost network can be created
through a microcontroller and wireless sensors at the front-end
architecture. The process was discussed to determine: the stock item
below a defined quantity or threshold limit, determining the product
expiration date and eventually determining the purchase or exchange
of food items across the network. It also includes the proof of concept
technology by allowing connection of an ultrasonic sensor to an IoT
platform that can allow the exchange of information on the positioning
of the food items inside the refrigerator. This eventually can allow for
a large-scale commercial implementation of the project to deal with
the current issue of food distribution.
Keywords
Cloud architecture, Internet of Things, Raspberry Pi, Smart
refrigerator.
1. INTRODUCTION
According to the data from the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is
lost or wasted every year. Similarly, from the reports prepared by the
Natural Resources Defense Council, that an approximately $218 billion
worth of uneaten food by the Americans is deposited in the landfill that
eventually contributes to the greenhouse gases. The FAO website also
states that in developed countries, approximately 40% of the food
wastage occurs at the consumer level. A significant portion of a
consumer's daily food is stored in the refrigerator and most of the
discarded food is primarily because they have surpassed the expiration
date printed on the packaging. Given, the hectic lifestyle of an average
individual, it becomes difficult at times to keep a record of the groceries
on a regular basis. Therefore, connecting the Internet of things (IoT) to
a regular refrigerator can be an effective approach for the food
management at the consumer level that can eventually help reduce the
food wastage.
According to a research by Quested et al. there are several behaviors
and practices that account for food wastage [1]. Planning meals in
advance, checking levels of food before shopping and making a
shopping list were listed as the potential activities that can reduce food
wastage. Other multiple correlating activities can eventually account for
the food wastage. Hence, a smart refrigerator can be an ideal solution
to automate the entire process and hence reduce food wastage. In 2006,
Nakano [2] had food information management system" that contains a
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ICSDE'18, October 18–20, 2018, Rabat, Morocco
© 2018 Association for Computing Machinery.
ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-6507-9/18/10…$15.00
https://doi.org/10.1145/3289100.3289103
Ahmed Abdelgawad
College of Science and Engineering
Central Michigan University
Mt Pleasant, MI 48859, USA
abdel1a@cmich.edu
database on the different food item and each grocery item is recognized
through an ID. However, though the invention was intended for an
automated and intelligent cooking system of processed food the concept
can be further extended to household refrigerators for an efficient food
management at the consumer level.
The concept of a smart refrigerator that is connected to IoT has been in
discussion and each attempt has been made to automate the process of
regulating the inventory of this appliance. A proof of concept was
proposed by Floarea et al. [3] that was based on the concept of product
identification through Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
technology. It was based on the concept that most products will be
tracked through RFID tags and through a global database,
manufacturers and consumers can access information about the product.
The proposed concept had several functionalities that included:
identifying any new and removed products from the owner’s
refrigerator, an ‘essential inventory’ list that can be linked to a web-
based shopping list, triggering alerts for products close to expiration or
had not been consumed for prolonged period and eventually an option
to check the product inventory at any period of time. The concept for
the design of a low-cost smart refrigerator was proposed by Wu et al.
[4] using Raspberry Pi. The proposed architecture involved capturing
real-time images of the inventory in the refrigerator that can be accessed
through multiple devices using an IoT platform. The hardware of the
system can be easily integrated into any conventional refrigerator,
thereby saving cost and the inventory information was, therefore, to be
accessed through a mobile device.
The above technologies for the smart refrigerators relied mostly only on
RFID scanning process to access product information. Edward et al. [5]
used photodiode (IR receiver), barcode scanner and NodeMCU (which
is an open source IoT platform) as product sensors and to eventually
process the data for a graphical user interface (GUI) output. The
purpose of the prototype included: keeping an inventory list of the items
in the refrigerator, ordering low stock items, record transaction history
and also use it for many other configurations. It also had an auto
ordering feature when the stock quantity decreased below the threshold.
The ordering was automated through JavaScript Object Notation
(JSON). The concept of using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify the
age of individual vegetables in the refrigerator was proposed by Sweta
[6]. It also suggested an option for the text message that can notify users
about the vegetables that have not been consumed, which would help to
keep track of balanced food consumption through constant reminder. A
360-degree micro cam was used to capture the image and compared
with stored histograms of learned images. The experimental results of
the prototype had 96.55% accuracy at identifying the vegetables.
A prototype for a smart Medical refrigerator was constructed and field
tested by a team of four undergraduate students and their three
supervisors [7]. The primary purpose of the built prototype was to alert
a guardian if the patient does not take their medicine in a timely manner.
A microcontroller was used to monitor the door position and if it was
not opened within a programmable time period it would be sent an e-
mail alert to a responsible contact person. It also had status coded color Fig.2 shows the flowchart for determining if the stock item falls below
indicators: green to indicate the person had recently consumed the the threshold level. The consumer can input a pre-determined minimum
medicine, yellow that the dosage is due and the flashing red LED quantity for a food item and when the amount falls below that threshold
indicated that an alert has been sent. Though there were initial problems value, this will trigger an automated connection to the central database
with the field testing such as the patient only partially opening the to find whether the same item is available for selling by another
refrigerator that failed the sensor to detect and difficulty interpreting the consumer. Similarly, Fig.3 shows an automated process that can occur
LED. The system was eventually modified for greater sensitivity and on a daily basis to check whether food items are very close to the
interpretation and had eventually a patent pending for marketing the expiration date. If a stock item is within 15 days of expiration, it can be
licensing rights for the device. listed to a database that will have similar items to sale for consumers
that need buying that same grocery item and was listed in the database
Also, in June 2000, LG electronics had launched its own internet of Stock Deficiency in Fig.2.
refrigerator under the title ‘LG Internet Digital DIOS’ also known as R-
S73CT [8]. The refrigerator had several features including TFT-LCD
(thin film transistor-liquid crystal display) screen and also local area
network (LAN) port. The product features were, however, more
synchronous towards an everyday official management portfolio such
as video messaging option, schedule management, data memo among
many others. However, certain features such as monitoring of the inside
temperature, the freshness of stored food and nutrition information and
recipes were more inclined towards the product's added advantage but
were heavily offset due to the high cost of the refrigerator being more
than $20,000. The consumers found the added features as unnecessary
to the product and the product itself was also expensive primarily
because of the high initial investment of approximately $49.2 million
for the research [9-10]. Hence, it becomes important to realize that the
product features that can solve a vital issue especially on the consumer
side and the cost itself are essential factors for the underlying success
of any product.
One of the major issues underlying on the consumer side for food, as
discussed earlier usually involves around its wastage and efficient
Fig.2: Flowchart to determine whether the stock is below the threshold.
management. Identification of the expiration date can be an important
indicator but it becomes even more important that attempts are taken
through food management after that data is identified. The main
contribution of this work is to propose a low-cost platform to save food Fig.4 shows the flowchart in order to contact the consumers whose
on the customer side. The proposed architecture hence tries to solve this product is close to expiration and simultaneously the consumer that is
issue through IoT platform in a cost-effective way. in need for the stock of the item. The contact can be made through a
text message and the quantity at the price available for sale can be
2. PROPOSED CONCEPT specified. Since the distribution is done within the same neighborhood,
The smart refrigerator should be designed to include a variety of the cost of transport will be reduced and simultaneously it will be a
functionalities that help in both improved food management and also much efficient way for food management instead of letting it expire on
helping to keep track of the balanced diet for the consumer. The primary the fridge shelf without consumption. In case, the potential buyer is not
issue is to allow consumers to allow distribution of the food to the interested in the purchase, an online option to make the purchase from
neighbors that need the same grocery items before the expiration date a fresh grocery store or a farmer's market can be made available. The
has been reached. This problem at hand can be tackled through an user can also have an option to discard the purchase altogether.
interconnected IoT platform for the smart refrigerators. Fig.1 shows the
primary schematic for the proposed architecture. Each refrigerator in
the neighborhood can be connected to a centralized IoT platform. This
can allow easier monitoring of the food items in the refrigerator that are
very close to the expiration date and simultaneously identify consumers
in those neighborhoods that can benefit through borrow/purchasing of
the product by scanning the grocery items in their respective
refrigerators. This will eventually allow improved food management
and hence reduce food wastage.

Fig.1: The central database connecting all the refrigerators in the same
neighborhood. Fig.3: Flowchart to determine product expiration

Fig.4: Flowchart for distribution or purchase
3. PROPOSED CLOUD BASED ARCHITECTURE
The framework for the proposed IoT application is inspired by the
multi-layered architectural framework [11, 14]. The design can be
composed of primarily three layers: front-end layer, the gateway layer,
and the back-end layer. Fig. 5 shows the proposed IoT architecture that
can help to connect several refrigerators in the same neighborhood and
therefore allow the exchange of food data for more efficient food
management.
3.1 Front End Layer
The front-end layer is the hardware components in the architecture that
is responsible for collecting and processing the data. These include
devices that can communicate directly or indirectly with the internet.
It will have four components: sensors, interfacing circuits,
microcontroller, and the wireless module. Fig.6 shows the interfacing
of the four modules at the front-end layer.
Fig.5: Cloud-based IoT architecture for smart refrigerator
FlexiForce A401Sensor
It can measure forces between the range of 0-1 pounds and even
between 0-7000 pounds can be easily measured through a
recommended circuit arrangement. This sensor can help to realize the
quantity of food consumed by measuring the changes in the weight
before and after the refrigerator door is opened.
HC-SRO4 Ultrasonic sensor
This ultrasonic sensor can measure an approaching individual within a
certain range and hence activate the connected sensors to take data of
the grocery items in the refrigerator.
Barcode/RFID Reader RC 522 Scanner
This hardware component can allow scanning of the items, so that
product information, particularly the expiration date can be regulated.
Membrane 1x4 keypad
The keypad can allow punching the secret key combination for
different individuals sharing the same refrigerator. This can help create
individual profiles about the food consumption and help keep track of
the food consumed by measuring the difference in the reading of the
Flexiforce A401 sensors in different compartments before and after the
refrigerator door is triggered.
Raspberry Pi Camera Board V2-8 Megapixel
The pi camera can be used to capture an image of the grocery items
within the refrigerator. This can be activated when an individual open
and closes the refrigerator's door. Similarly, image analysis can be
performed by programming through the Raspberry Pi, to further
identify the quantity of the good that has been consumed or the amount
that is left in the stock.
Microcontroller: Raspberry Pi 3
The Raspberry Pi is an integral part of the proposed architecture. The
aforementioned sensors can be connected to this mini-computer that
can eventually process all the necessary data and then relay the
information to the IoT platform for a graphical interface. Python or
C++ can be used to perform the following data analysis, which
involves, the reading from the ultrasonic sensor, password
identification, image analysis, measuring the quantity of food
consumed and also decoding the expiration date.
The 64-bit Raspberry Pi 3 has a quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex A53
clocked at 1.2GHz and 1GB RAM. The fast speed and enough memory
ensure that real-time data analysis can be performed by relaying data
from the front end layer to the cloud. However, Raspberry Pi-3
consumes slightly more power than its predecessor and hence if power
consumption is an issue, the aforementioned microcontroller can be
replaced by Raspberry Pi 2.
Interfacing Circuits and Wireless Module
An interfacing circuit is primarily an Analog-Digital Converter (ADC)
or a Digital-Analog Converter (DAC). This interfacing circuit chip
ensures that the analog signal from the sensors is converted to the
digital signal that can be processed by the microcontroller. A 6-bit CA
3306 ADC can be used for the purpose which has low power
consumption and high-speed digitalization. Raspberry Pi 3 has a built-
in Wi-Fi module, 802.11n Wireless LAN.
Fig.6: The front-end layer for the smart refrigerator architecture
3.2 Gateway Layer
The gateway layer provides a communication link between the front-
end layer and the back-end layer. For the data exchange protocols in
the IoT Gateway, the standard bus-based, the data-centric architecture
of Data Distribution Service (DDS) for real-time system analysis can
be used. Similarly, the message-centric MQTT can be an alternative
protocol used for information exchange. The IEEE 802.11n, the
module provides a net data rate of 600Mbps and the operating
frequency band could be 2.4GHz.
3.3 Back-end Layer
The cloud-based back-end layer accepts information from the IoT
gateway. In the cloud, it is stored and processed for the graphical user
interface, e.g. web application or mobile application.
The food data information collected from the front-end layer, which
primarily includes the ID of the food item, the ID of the fridge, the
product expiration information and the quantity of the product in stock
can eventually be stored in the cloud database for Expiration Product
and Stock Deficiency, as discussed in the earlier section. Similarly, data
analytics can be performed by developing an algorithm from using the
major concepts outlined in flowcharts shown in Fig.2, 3 and 4.
MQTT would be an ideal protocol for developing a secure interface
for communication between sensors and the cloud. Since the data
information are sensitive on the client side and it can also involve
credit card information for purchase as shown in Fig. 4, hence
advanced security becomes crucial for its implementation. TLS/SSL
should be enabled to avoid remote access of IoT sensors and devices.
4. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AT
FRONT-END AND BACK-END LAYER
Apart from the sharing of information on the product expiration date,
another important factor to be evaluated is the quantity of the product
that is left in the stock. FlexiForce sensors discussed earlier can be an
efficient method for achieving such information about the product
quantity. However, an alternative approach using an ultrasonic sensor
was used as a working bench model to test the same hypothesis on
deriving the measurement about product quantity that is left in the
stock. The data achieved from the ultrasonic sensor was connected to
ThingSpeakTM which is an IoT analytics platform. Fig.7 shows the
output data for distance measurement from HC-SR04, obtained
through MATLAB Visualizations when the Raspberry Pi was
configured to connect to the cloud platform. A hypothetical shelf
arrangement in a refrigerator is shown in Fig.8. Hence, the Python
programming language can be used to code, e.g. if the value of the
distance obtained for Item-1 falls to the threshold value of ‘L’, it can
be considered as an item in stock deficiency.
Fig.7: Graph obtained for distance measurement on the ThingSpeak platform
using the ultrasonic sensor
Fig.8: A hypothetical typical arrangement in a refrigerator
5. CONCLUSION
The proposed cloud-based IoT architecture for a smart refrigerator
allows an efficient food management. The three-layer architecture
allows also the integration of access to food information across
different users within a defined vicinity. This can be eventually
implemented on a commercial scale but the primary hazards usually
involve the cost of implementation and the security of information.
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