Connected Cup Knows Your Drink

Facebook Privacy: 10 Settings To Check

A startup called Mark One has begun accepting pre-orders for a computerized cup called Vessyl that will tell you what and how much you're drinking, in case you weren't aware, lost track along the way, or merely thirst for data about yourself.

Vessyl is the latest "smart" object that aspires to be part of the emerging Internet of Things, a work-in-progress that promises better living through information we might have missed or calculated in our heads and might otherwise have gone unmonetized.

In a video, Mark Berman, VP of health for Mark One and a medical doctor, suggests the changes in behavior prompted by Vessyl's display of data can transform your life.

"As you use the Vessyl, it's going to learn more about you and your consumption habits and patterns," Berman says. "But the main goal is actually to help you make healthier and more informed decisions in real time."

[Charge your phone while sipping coffee. Read Starbucks Wireless Charging Plan: Meet Powermat.]

The video shows a young man pouring a beer into his Vessyl and seeing the word "beer" light up on the side of the cup. This probably isn't the transformational aspect of the technology.

Vessyl apparently employs relatively sophisticated sensors for liquid analysis. A company spokesman declined to provide details, but said in an email that Vessyl's proprietary sensors "can identify, and break down contents to a molecular level."

Thus the electronic cup can identify fats, calories, sugars, caffeine, alcohol, and other chemical characteristics of the liquid within. And it is doing so by analysis rather than simple volume calculations. In other words, if you were to take a cup of coffee, remove 25% of its volume and replace that amount with water, you'd see the caffeine reading drop accordingly. That alone makes Vessyl interesting. The company claims Vessyl can even distinguish between commercial beverage brands, like Coke and Pepsi.

Vessyl will help track hydration through a proprietary metric called Pryme, presumably because standard measurement units don't lend themselves to product lock-in.

Asked whether Vessyl would alert a cup user to the presence of Rohypnol in a beverage, the company spokesman said he would check on the scope of the chemical library recognized by the device but noted that Mark One hasn't focused on things like Rohypnol because of the legal implications. "They're not trying to tell you if something is safe to drink, but are letting you know what is inside," the spokesman said.

Perhaps for version 2.0. Knowing whether a drink is safe would be far more valuable than receiving a readout that confirms what should be stated on any beverage label.

Vessyl can communicate with, but does not require, Android and iOS smartphone apps through Bluetooth 4.0. It's not dishwasher safe, but it's certainly an attractive, sealable mug if you're determined to add cup recharging and scrubbing to your daily routine.

Vessyl is available for $99 as a pre-order, or $199 when it is officially released next year. Although it might not cure you of gadgetophilia, Vessyl could appeal those obsessed with measuring their lives.

For those more concerned with living their lives, the value of such a device could prove more elusive. There are already effective ways to, say, track caffeine intake or water consumption using your brain. If you're a smart person, is it necessary to have a smart cup? There's a reason Nike's slogan is "Just Do It" and not "Measure It, Then Obey The Data."

Too many companies treat digital and mobile strategies as pet projects. Here are four ideas to shake up your company. Also in the Digital Disruption issue of InformationWeek: Six enduring truths about selecting enterprise software. (Free registration required.)