Kickstarter may have birthed another innovation. The Internet of Things sometimes seems futuristic and frivolous at the same time. As the technology evolves, innovators are starting to focus more clearly on useful items. Some of them tackle everyday problems that you simply shrugged off because there was no real viable alternative. This is one example.
Here's how the LA Times described it:
It's one of the most common complaints in cooking. "How high is medium high?" Now, somebody's done something about it.
A company called Meld is getting ready to produce a knob it says you can attach to any home stove that will read the temperature of what you’re cooking and automatically keep it stable to within a single degree.
Sound like a good idea? More than 450 Kickstarter backers think so. Meld’s campaign hit its $50,000 goal within seven hours of its launch Tuesday.
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It works like this: A temperature probe is clipped to the pot of what you’re cooking and connects via Bluetooth with your smartphone (IOS or Android). Your smartphone then communicates with the temperature dial on the stove, which automatically adjusts to maintain the desired temperature.
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“What we’re doing is taking the dumbest appliance in your entire house and bringing it into the 21st century,” Vengroff says. “We’re taking this thing that’s a great source of raw heat and bringing some control to it.”
The system will work no matter what's being heated in the pan — soup, plain water (as in a sous-vide bath), or even high-temperature fat for deep frying or sugar syrup for candy making.
An article in Mashable gives more insight into the device itself:
The Meld comes with three key parts: a knob that replaces your existing stove's knob; a clip that attaches to existing cookware; and a corresponding app, which tracks in your meal's progress in real time. The gadgets, which begin shipping this fall, are sold together and cost $129 for Kickstarter preorders (or $149 when they hit retail stores).
The device itself is surprisingly advanced:
"The Meld Knob contains an algorithm that understands the specific power range of the burner and how it influences the temperature of what's in the pot," Jenkins said. "This algorithm analyzes the heat dynamics of what's going on in the pot or pan hundreds of times and it adjusts the burner accordingly."
Here is the link to the LA Times article: Game-changer? An automatic knob reads, controls the temperature of your stove - LA Times
Here is the link to the Mashable article: Smart stove knob knows just how to cook your dinner, so you don't have to
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