People always buy food from the market and put that food into the fridge, but people will often forget what they have bought and when they have bought it. The results are they may forget to consume the food before the expiry date and cause food waste. The UNs Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that nearly one third of all food produced for human consumption worldwide is wasted before it is eaten. Over 15 million and 31 million tons of food are wasted in the UK and US respectively each year.
MyFridgeManager can get food item information in appropriate ways. For packaged food, MyFridgeManager allow the user to scan the bar code on the food package and then get the information and expiry date. For unpackaged food, users are allowed to enter the food information manually. All food information entered by the user will be stored in a cloud database. Moreover, the user can view the food in their fridge and the expiry dates of the food via the application. The application will also notify users several days before their food expires. The key feature of the MyFridgeManager contains the following aspect.
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This application is optimised for users inside the UK
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• Barcode scan function.
The barcode scan function is able to allow user add their food information into the application in a more convenient and efficient way.
• OCR recognition function (removed from version 2.0)
The OCR function is a more efficient and continent way for user to enter the expiry date of each item into the application.
• Notification function.
The notification function is response for alert people about the food which will expire shortly. The notification alerts are regard as persuasive messages in this project.
• A cloud database to share fridge information between users.
A cloud database is used to store the user data and allow user share their fridges.
• A friendly graphic user interface.
Graphic user interface is the major part which links the application to the user. Designing a shiny and efficient graphic user interface of this application is considered as an objective.
• Price comparison.
The app is able to display the price of any package food in various groceries. e.g. Tesco, ASDA, Morrisions, Sainsburrys, M&S, etc. This function can help users to save money.
• Nutrition information.
The app is able to display the nutrition information of package food. This helps you to keep a balanced diet and health life.