Health & Wellbeing

Vessyl is no mug – it’s a smart cup that tells you what you're drinking

Vessyl is no mug – it’s a smart cup that tells you what you're drinking
Vessyl is a smart cup that analyzes liquids to tell you what you're drinking
Vessyl is a smart cup that analyzes liquids to tell you what you're drinking
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Vessyl app showing daily beverage intake
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Vessyl app showing daily beverage intake
Vessyl app displaying constituent intake
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Vessyl app displaying constituent intake
Vessyl displays contents
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Vessyl displays contents
Vessyl features a discreet in-built display on the side
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Vessyl features a discreet in-built display on the side
Vessyl boasts a non-spill lid
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Vessyl boasts a non-spill lid
The Vessyl team are keeping the technology driving its smart cup close to their chests
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The Vessyl team are keeping the technology driving its smart cup close to their chests
Vessyl detects dietary content, such as sugar, protein, calories, fat, caffeine
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Vessyl detects dietary content, such as sugar, protein, calories, fat, caffeine
Vessyl works with a companion smartphone app for iOS and Android
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Vessyl works with a companion smartphone app for iOS and Android
Vessyl will come in black or white
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Vessyl will come in black or white
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Vessyl is a smart cup that analyzes liquids to tell you what you're drinking
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Vessyl is a smart cup that analyzes liquids to tell you what you're drinking
View gallery - 11 images

At first glance, "Vessyl" looks like an ultra-modern, but relatively ordinary, 13 oz (385 ml) mug. However, pour something into it and it becomes extraordinary: not only will it identify what type of drink it has in it, but Vessyl will also tell you its dietary content, such as sugar, protein, calories, fat, caffeine – even identifying the beverage by name – then take all of those results and synchronize them to your smartphone.

Working with a companion smartphone app for iOS and Android, Vessyl transfers data via Bluetooth to automatically record and analyze your daily beverage intake. During the day as you fill and refill Vessyl, the app tracks what you are drinking and when, while keeping a running total. The app can then be made to show specific details, such as the amount of caffeine imbibed for the day, the quantity of sugar ingested, or the amount of calories consumed.

Each of the different drink constituents can also be monitored dependent upon your focus – if you're trying to cut down on your caffeine intake, for example. Vessyl calls these specific target monitors "lenses," with the cup displaying your choice of lens in a running tally on its discreet in-built display.

Vessyl app displaying constituent intake
Vessyl app displaying constituent intake

Vessyl can even tell you whether you need to drink more water by displaying a vivid blue line that rises and falls dependent upon your hydration level. Vessyl calls this part of the technology "Pryme," and it can be displayed independently on the cup itself, or within the app to show you not only how hydrated you are, but for how long you remained at optimal hydration levels. All of which coincides with the Vessyl mantra of empowering people to make better choices.

"With Vessyl, we’re solving the other half of the tracking equation," said Justin Lee, CEO of Mark One, the company behind Vessyl. "There are plenty of devices that track activity, but Vessyl is the first ever consumer product to automatically track your consumption in real time. Beverages are a major source of unnoticed calories, and Vessyl gives you the tools to easily know what you’re really drinking and motivate you to make healthier choices."

Lee and the Vessyl team are keeping the technology driving its smart cup close to their chests, only revealing that the sensor itself does not come into direct contact with the liquid inside the cup and that a processor and algorithms are responsible for matching the detected beverage to one of thousands of drinks Lee’s team has tested with Vessyl, even differentiating between different brands of the same drink. However, the team says the device is not dependent on a preset library of drinks to determine the nutritional content of a liquid, with even homemade concoctions able to be analyzed.

Seven years in development, Vessyl was created with the skills of Jawbone designer, Yves Behar. Designed to be a chic lifestyle product that is both fashionable and functional, Vessyl has a spill-proof lid, a non-stick interior, and an accompanying charging coaster that provides the cup with enough power for an entire week’s use in just one hour of charge time.

Officially launched in this month as a pre-production unit to assess consumer demand, the team plans to enter production in early 2015 at a retail price of US$199. However, to help ensure that the requisite capital is raised for production, Vessyl will be made available for pre-order to early backers with prices starting at $99.

The video below demonstrates the Vessyl in action.

Source: Vessyl

Vessyl - Automatically Track Everything You Drink

View gallery - 11 images
7 comments
7 comments
Bob Flint
Will it tell you when to properly clean instead of a quick rinse?
jayedwin98020
I'm wondering how we ever got along, prior to to having all this additional information, that's now available to us.
And I guess, I'd better hurry and "pre-order" my $99.00 mug, before they go to $199.00!
YGTBK!
sk8dad
Can it detect GHB? If so, I'll take a dozen.
The Skud
I hope they managed to include the versions of "date rape" drugs that are out there! If they hold the price down with increased production, it should be a mandatory gift to all vulnerable girls or students everywhere. I wonder with all the ethanol (or is that methanol?) adulteration of drinks in Bali etc., it would show up the impurities and save the lives of a few tourists?
Ed
I already know what's in my mug...I put it in there!
Arahant
I'm thinking along the same line as a few other commenters, but probably for different reasons.. does this only detect certain things related to nutrition or can it detect anything? IE is it using some sort of spectrometer, if so that would be awesome and I would definately buy one or two.
This sounds really cool, and I think I'd buy one even if it was just basic nutrition that it detected, but if it was able to detect a large range of possible adulterants, this would be 10x better.
Hallett Newman
If you need a $99 cup to tell you what you're drinking, congratulations. You're dumber than a cup. Please remove yourself from the gene pool.