I'm not comfortable buying a $100 cup if I Can't find the "How does it work?" question in the FAQ. I mean, I'm not expecting a full technical detail, but something more than "It’s not magic, but close to it…".
It's easier to find out if it will work as you expect it if at least gives some hint of what kind of technology it's using. Or am I missing any text that says so? I would certainly consider doing a pre-order if I had some more info on its inner workings. It looks like a neat product and even one that I would like to try out just for fun, and also to see if this technology actually works.
(I'm not counting the video which I didn't look at because I really prefer not having to sit through several minutes of pretty pictures and logos and such to find out how the product works)
So am I alone in this? is it so rare for people to ask how a device that claims near-magical properties work?
I left the website feeling disappointed.
Those are very pretty pictures they have, and a pretty spiffy website, but it feels like the marketing team went a little bit too nuts. The sheer lack of info about how it works honestly left me second-guessing if this was a genuine product or some kind of we'd-like-to-build-this-eventually-but-don't-know-how-yet pipe-dream that they weren't allowed to post to Kickstarter because they didn't have a prototype yet.
Where's the How It Works section?
Not on the front page? Forgivable.
Not in the FAQ? Not forgivable.
At least it's good to hear they didn't tuck it away in the video, doing that scores even lower than not having it in the FAQ in my books.
What problem is this cup solving? Is it that hard to figure out what you're drinking? (Hint: look at the bottle when you pour, and don't take drinks from strangers.) Is it that hard to keep yourself hydrated? (Just drink when you're thirsty.) And how is a calorie counting cup gonna help me lose weight? (Just DRINK WATER).
I want something that simplifies my life. Not something that needlessly complicates something as simple as drinking without giving me added benefits.
Keeping track of what you're drinking, how much you're drinking and how many calories your drinking is what this solves. It clearly isn't useful to you but it's automating a task that some people don't want to do manually. Why do you need a pedometer when you can count steps?
We can certainly argue the usefulness of this device for the average joe or how small their market may be but arguing that it doesn't solve any problems is silly.
For a copywriter you're pretty boring. Your complaint is the equivalent of begging why have anyone tell you the weather when you can just open the window!
This is a sensor in a cup. It's a companion piece. The future is all about companions surrounding you, nudging you, guiding you.
I'd expect this to be possibly useful for diabetics. I don't expect this to be useful for detecting allergens, because I don't expect it to have small enough detection thresholds.
I'm not sure why exactly I would need this (I don't need a cup to tell me what I'm drinking, and I don't find it difficult to keep track of my beverage habits).
This is interesting from a technical perspective, though. How does it know what's in the cup?
It's so that everything is better and you know everything about everything all the time and then everything is better because you know all the things and can track it and turn it into data.
I'm getting a little tired of the onslaught of products which attach technology to items/habits/lifestyles that (IMO) are obscured by technology. Does the jawbone bracelet improve my understanding of my own habits and body better than care contemplation and meditation would, or does it add an (incomplete) layer of abstraction to an already complicated system? Do a few meager data points help me better understand what's going on with my body?
With these technologies we must force ourselves to weigh the negative impacts against the perceived values.
What is the environmental impact of creating this item?
How much does this item increase my power consumption?
How is the data collected by this device used, who has access to it?
Is there a problem that this product solves?
What kind of impact does this product have on the people around me?
If this item is just a toy, does its environmental impact justify the purchasing of it?
I'm going to take a guess and say that it contains a small device which uses an absorption spectroscopy technique (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_spectroscopy) or something similar. Given a large database of known beverages and their constituent parts, it could compare and find a match based on a known set of gaps in the spectrum.
Need? I didn't need a smartphone when I bought one, but it changed my lifestyle such that it is now irreplaceable. How do they do it? I really don't know but this article on electrochemical biosensor arrays for "electronic tongue" is interesting: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijelc/2012/986025/
I hope they are taking a page from the Tesla playbook. The people who need this device are not the ones who are going to pre-order it today or buy it when it comes to retail. But to reach the broader consumer market they need to target high-end, trendy, and rich consumers, so they can eventually produce an affordable (or better yet, ubiquitous) technology.
To complete the analogy, I hope this is the "Roadster" with a clear goal of an affordable sedan in the future.
Unfortunately there is a strong correlation between poverty and soda consumption. (http://www.livescience.com/35127-poverty-soda-pop-consumptio...) So if you want to make a real impact you're going to have to make this cheap and easy enough to be sold in bulk at Walmart. (Please excuse the stereotyping, it is, of course, not this simple.)
I think really what the people who "need" this device need is better access to good food, and the money to buy it.
I mean, really, I am pretty sure most poor people know they kinda eat like shit. If they had the money to spend on good food (prepared or raw materials), and the time to sit in a restaurant for a half hour, or to cook stuff, they probably would. A higher minimum wage, maybe even a basic income, would go a lot further than "here is a $5 cup that can make you feel guilty about not being able to afford to drink good things".
I wonder if there is a more concise and general term for starting with the high end to develop technology and move to the mainstream when scale and technology becomes more affordable and usable.
It's basically a specific subset of crossing the chasm, right?
I'm guessing that it either uses absorption spectrography or a motor, two electrodes, a balance, and a large database of mass/conductivity/viscosity data.
Up next: C'mode, the smart toilet that knows what you've been eating, and offers helpful advice intended to prevent indigestion and weight gain, while optimizing your grocery list and restaurant reservations.
Hahahah, I feel that would be difficult to market but probably really useful. I'm sure you can learn all types of things about yourself from your stool. I guess when you sat down, it would have some voice recognition to know it was you, like "Hello C'mode!"?
> "We know being active is important, so your Vessyl connects with popular activity trackers for more accurate net calories and hydration awareness."
Phew, I was worried about this. If I can't sync my Vessyl to my fitbit to my strava profile with nike+ misfit shine integrations, how the hell am I supposed to know exactly how many steps I need to take to optimize my area under the fun curve subject to the constraints that I lose 1.6 pounds but can still eat artisanal cuisine?! The other day I almost went for a walk in the woods, but my Vessyl was dropping its bluetooth connection, so I retreated to the safety of my San Francisco apartment.
Exactly my thought, the video seems satirical. Especially when the guy pours beer in the cup and it tells him that it's beer, after which he gives it a "that's right" nod.
I'm going to wait until I get more information before I pass judgement on it...
But I wonder if they purposely delay displaying the contents of the liquid. It seemed a bit comical in the video when the guy pours something into the cup and it takes a couple of seconds for the animation to run before it displays, "beer"
I think you'll get a lot of poking at that aspect of it because humans generally know what they are pouring into the cup, so taking so long to identify it makes it seem slow/laggy. It gives the feeling of "why does it need 5 seconds to tell that it's water. I know it's water instantly, why doesn't it as well?"
Of course the problem is I need to carry it everywhere and empty my drinks into it for it to really work. If I have to carry it everywhere, I have to make sure it's charged. So now before I go out in the morning I have yet another device that I need to ensure is fully charged for the rest of the day.
That's very damn cool technology-wise. It would probably be useful in some sci-fi setting where you are provided with many unknown substances and you need to detect whether something is drinkable or not.
[+] [-] saganus|11 years ago|reply
It's easier to find out if it will work as you expect it if at least gives some hint of what kind of technology it's using. Or am I missing any text that says so? I would certainly consider doing a pre-order if I had some more info on its inner workings. It looks like a neat product and even one that I would like to try out just for fun, and also to see if this technology actually works.
(I'm not counting the video which I didn't look at because I really prefer not having to sit through several minutes of pretty pictures and logos and such to find out how the product works)
So am I alone in this? is it so rare for people to ask how a device that claims near-magical properties work?
[+] [-] click170|11 years ago|reply
I left the website feeling disappointed. Those are very pretty pictures they have, and a pretty spiffy website, but it feels like the marketing team went a little bit too nuts. The sheer lack of info about how it works honestly left me second-guessing if this was a genuine product or some kind of we'd-like-to-build-this-eventually-but-don't-know-how-yet pipe-dream that they weren't allowed to post to Kickstarter because they didn't have a prototype yet.
Where's the How It Works section? Not on the front page? Forgivable. Not in the FAQ? Not forgivable.
At least it's good to hear they didn't tuck it away in the video, doing that scores even lower than not having it in the FAQ in my books.
[+] [-] mscarborough|11 years ago|reply
But hey, you can get it for $99 right now instead of $199 later!
[+] [-] normloman|11 years ago|reply
I want something that simplifies my life. Not something that needlessly complicates something as simple as drinking without giving me added benefits.
[+] [-] watty|11 years ago|reply
We can certainly argue the usefulness of this device for the average joe or how small their market may be but arguing that it doesn't solve any problems is silly.
[+] [-] alaskamiller|11 years ago|reply
This is a sensor in a cup. It's a companion piece. The future is all about companions surrounding you, nudging you, guiding you.
[+] [-] adhdeveloper|11 years ago|reply
It took a trip to the doctor to find out I was chronically dehydrated. I used to only drink 1 - 3 glasses of water a day.
[+] [-] robryk|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] endersshadow|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] timothya|11 years ago|reply
This is interesting from a technical perspective, though. How does it know what's in the cup?
[+] [-] evanlivingston|11 years ago|reply
I'm getting a little tired of the onslaught of products which attach technology to items/habits/lifestyles that (IMO) are obscured by technology. Does the jawbone bracelet improve my understanding of my own habits and body better than care contemplation and meditation would, or does it add an (incomplete) layer of abstraction to an already complicated system? Do a few meager data points help me better understand what's going on with my body?
With these technologies we must force ourselves to weigh the negative impacts against the perceived values.
What is the environmental impact of creating this item?
How much does this item increase my power consumption?
How is the data collected by this device used, who has access to it?
Is there a problem that this product solves?
What kind of impact does this product have on the people around me?
If this item is just a toy, does its environmental impact justify the purchasing of it?
[+] [-] jvandyke|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] woodchuck64|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] iandanforth|11 years ago|reply
Who do I think needs this technology? People who drink soda and don't know how many calories they are consuming. Not only does it cause a huge percentage of obesity cases (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-drinks-fa...) but the large doses of caffeine and phosphoric acid in Colas can do serious damage to your bones! (http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/soda-osteoporosis).
Unfortunately there is a strong correlation between poverty and soda consumption. (http://www.livescience.com/35127-poverty-soda-pop-consumptio...) So if you want to make a real impact you're going to have to make this cheap and easy enough to be sold in bulk at Walmart. (Please excuse the stereotyping, it is, of course, not this simple.)
[+] [-] egypturnash|11 years ago|reply
I mean, really, I am pretty sure most poor people know they kinda eat like shit. If they had the money to spend on good food (prepared or raw materials), and the time to sit in a restaurant for a half hour, or to cook stuff, they probably would. A higher minimum wage, maybe even a basic income, would go a lot further than "here is a $5 cup that can make you feel guilty about not being able to afford to drink good things".
[+] [-] fudged71|11 years ago|reply
It's basically a specific subset of crossing the chasm, right?
[+] [-] orenmazor|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] owenversteeg|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] markbnj|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wuliwong|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mcmillhj|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TheAceOfHearts|11 years ago|reply
Seems like a cool concept, but it's too expensive and the idea of having YET ANOTHER item to charge really pushes me away.
I love that people are doing these kinds of things, though.
[+] [-] volker48|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] willis77|11 years ago|reply
Phew, I was worried about this. If I can't sync my Vessyl to my fitbit to my strava profile with nike+ misfit shine integrations, how the hell am I supposed to know exactly how many steps I need to take to optimize my area under the fun curve subject to the constraints that I lose 1.6 pounds but can still eat artisanal cuisine?! The other day I almost went for a walk in the woods, but my Vessyl was dropping its bluetooth connection, so I retreated to the safety of my San Francisco apartment.
[+] [-] altschuler|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nicholassmith|11 years ago|reply
Although I do like the hydration level stuff, I'm just not certain I think a $200($99 if you get in early) cup is the best solution for it.
[+] [-] swang|11 years ago|reply
But I wonder if they purposely delay displaying the contents of the liquid. It seemed a bit comical in the video when the guy pours something into the cup and it takes a couple of seconds for the animation to run before it displays, "beer"
I think you'll get a lot of poking at that aspect of it because humans generally know what they are pouring into the cup, so taking so long to identify it makes it seem slow/laggy. It gives the feeling of "why does it need 5 seconds to tell that it's water. I know it's water instantly, why doesn't it as well?"
[+] [-] disillusioned|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] egypturnash|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kolev|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mikegreco|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dodders|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] woah|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] navs|11 years ago|reply
Of course the problem is I need to carry it everywhere and empty my drinks into it for it to really work. If I have to carry it everywhere, I have to make sure it's charged. So now before I go out in the morning I have yet another device that I need to ensure is fully charged for the rest of the day.
[+] [-] sliverstorm|11 years ago|reply
Can that web page be any more resource-intensive? It's basically a slideshow as I scroll.
[+] [-] silverlight|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] toomuchtodo|11 years ago|reply
After some quick googling, it appears this may use the same principal that diabetes glucose monitors use.
[+] [-] Geee|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ivansavz|11 years ago|reply
I could use this to cut down on the caffeine... lol... would be cool if the lid locks shut after 400mg of caffeine. No more!