Big brother refrigerator

DAILY DOT COM - Imagine a day and age when your refrigerator will let you know when you’re out of milk as you are leaving work? Before you wrinkle your face in puzzlement, that day is here.

The technology of the future has been on display all this week at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

At the LG display, the company has been marketing its new smart "ThinkQ" line.  The line includes a smart oven, a smart refrigerator and a smart washer/dryer combo and a smart robotic vacuum cleaner.

What is a smart appliance? They're energy efficient appliances that talk to one another, to LG, and to you (of course) via your smartphone or television over WiFi, meaning you could check the status of your laundry or see how much longer the oven has to cook from your phone or TV.

However, the benefit of checking what's in the fridge appears to be appealing to consumers the most.

The brainy appliance doubles as a dietitian and is designed to help consumers eat more healthy.  

For example: while you're shopping, you can scan your grocery store receipt, and the refrigerator will then talk to your smartphone to tell it what's inside, if you're out of milk, or if anything is going to expire.

The ThinkQ refrigerator also offers suggestions on what to cook based on the foods already inside, all while keeping track of its energy use.

An LG representative said the products are all about consumer convenience.  

LG is expected to start rolling out smart models before the end of the year.