14 DAY TRIAL // Many people who afford good appliances have a small TV of some sort in their kitchen, to watch the cooking channel or maybe some series while preparing food. Sharp still feels it could be a tad lonely though.
After all, it's still a rather one-sided activity. There can never be an actual response on the TV's part, save for switching channels when so prompted via remote.
So Sharp invented a talking refrigerator, which uses a new voice-based AI system to interact with its users.
Status updates, greetings, suggestions and other things are relayed, based on pre-configured conditions.
The AI is called Kokoro Engine (kokoro, in Japanese, means “heart” or “mind).
So far, only two Sharp refrigerators have it: SJ-GF60Y and the SJ-GF50Y, as shown in the video ad embedded above.
The fridge doesn't have any info on things not related to its use though, so don't expect too much of a personality, or Facebook messages or anything of the like.
Sales should start on September 20 for $3,580 / €2,701.