Affixing a padlock to your fridge to help was a pretty standard joke/plausible weight loss solution in the sitcoms and cartoons of my youth. The “My Fridge Safe” puts a modern twist on that old saw using a Raspberry Pi, an electromagnetic lock and a power supply.
Created at the recent FirstBuild (which is backed by GE Appliances) 2018 “Hack the Home” Hackathon, “My Fridge Safe” was built in 35 hours and beat out hundreds of competitors to win first place and take home $3,000.
From the official press announcement:
“Josh Weil, Eric Ott and Alex Vance, a trio of local makers competing in their third FirstBuild hackathon, invented a locking drawer inside a refrigerator designed to keep medications, alcohol and even food safely locked away from children.”
Here’s a video that demonstrates the lock in action.
Congratulations to our 2018 Hackathon first place winner: Team #6 with “My Fridge Safe!” pic.twitter.com/BeXR7y0Q61
— FirstBuild (@firstbuild) September 16, 2018
As refrigerators become smarter, packed with more features and the center of our digital kitchen, it’s easy to see this type of drawer lock becoming a common option. Though one can imagine the locking mechanism evolving into something more robust and incorporating a keypad on a fridge touchscreen, or event recognized voice activation through a built-in Alexa. Or on a more enterprise-y level, office fridges with locks so people can’t steal your tuna salad sandwich.
In addition to stowing away booze and meds, there are also less severe uses like keeping sweets away from kids — or, you know, yourself — without having to bolt anything on to your refrigerator door.