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.