A Chinese company will market smart chopsticks, which analyze the quality of food using sensors.
Technologies are everywhere… even on our plates! The search engine Baidu, the Chinese equivalent of Google, created a surprise by presenting its latest discovery: “smart” chopsticks, capable of detecting certain toxic substances contained in our plates.
“A new way of feeling the world”
Thanks to sensors, the baguettes analyze the quality of the cooking oil (temperature and composition). The information collected is displayed on a smartphone connected by BlueTooth to the chopsticks, which flash red if the oil is deemed unfit for consumption.
Initially, these baguettes, still in prototype state, are therefore used to measure the freshness of the oil, but other applications should emerge. In particular, they can display the salt content, the acidity, or the number of calories contained in the food. “A new way of feeling the world”, according to the CEO of Baidu …
“Channel oil”
The idea may seem far-fetched, but it responds to strong demand in China, a country regularly shaken by health scandals. “Channel oil”, oil distilled from leftovers collected from restaurants, sparked outrage. This weekend again, nearly 250 tonnes of adulterated oil were seized in a factory in Taiwan … In 2008, finally, milk contaminated with melamine killed at least six young children, and poisoned 300,000 others.
These chopsticks were also presented to the public in the form of a video joke, last April. But faced with the enthusiasm of Internet users, Baidu has decided to launch serious research on these magic wands … whose marketing date has not yet been revealed.
.
