How’s this for the wave of the future?

Now you can shop for groceries the hi tech way. You have the device in your kitchen, you just scan the bar code, authorize the sending of the list when you are nearly out, and viola! Groceries are delivered to your place for a fee:

On “The Jetsons,” when George got hungry, he just pushed a couple of buttons on the Food-a-Rac-a-Cycle on the kitchen counter. In seconds, a freshly synthesized meal appeared on a plate, prepared to his exact specifications.

In the real world, food-synthesis science is only in its infancy, as you know if you’ve ever tasted fake blueberries in a muffin. But there is a machine that could be the Food-a-Rac-a-Cycle’s great-great-grandfather: a new countertop appliance called the Ikan.

The mission of this $400 device is to eliminate trips to the grocery store. The hardware component is a bulbous bar code scanner, dressed up in Any-Décor White and mounted on a countertop stand, an undercabinet bracket or a wall mount. It offers a color screen on the front, a laser scanner underneath and a Wi-Fi antenna inside that connects to your home wireless network.

Each time you’re about to throw away an empty container — for ketchup, cereal, pickles, milk, macaroni, paper towels, dog food or whatever — you just pass its bar code under the scanner. With amazing speed and accuracy, the Ikan beeps, consults its online database of one million products, and displays the full name and description.

Now if I was one of the fortunate people who could afford to call Manhattan home, and if I had a whole lot of money, then I’ll probably indulge myself in this convenience. It’s pretty cool. You don’t have to lug your groceries around (I used to have a foldable cart which was indispensable, despite the fact that I rarely cooked), and won’t have to elbow your way during “rush hour” at the grocery or make it an effort to shop really late at night.