DIY Smart Fridge Only Costs $80

Have you ever been in the grocery store and wondered whether you needed milk or eggs? Wouldn’t it be much easier to simply look at your smartphone and know right there on the spot? Mike thought so, too. The Maker, who admittedly says he got tired of seeing the commercials for Samsung’s Family Hub, decided to make his own smart fridge complete with a camera inside.

To bring this project to life, he needed a Raspberry Pi, a USB webcam and a light sensor. Now whenever the door opens, the light sensor triggers a simple program that he wrote to snap the photo using the webcam and upload it to his website via FTP.

Mike’s total cost was roughly $80 dollars — much cheaper than the $6,000 price tag of its commercial counterparts. You can check out his entire build below, and see what’s in his fridge here.