A 'Smart' Cup That Knows What You're Drinking -- And Counts the Calories When it comes to monitoring your health, keeping track of your liquids intake hasn't been very smart. Enter: Vessyl.
By Emily Price
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
No matter how diligent you are about your diet, there's likely one area where you're a bit of a slacker: What you drink. The beverages we consume can have a big impact on our health, but tracking every ounce of liquid that passes your lips can be a huge hassle.
Enter Vessyl, a smart cup that can determine not only how much liquid is inside it, but also what that beverage is. Yes, really.
Vessyl was designed by Jawbone's Chief Creative Officer Yves Behar, and is the culmination of seven years of work for CEO Justin Lee. The cup knows the difference between Tropicana OJ and the store brand, and will win the Pepsi challenge every time. Even better, if knows the caloric, caffeine and even protein content of that drink and will track that information and more throughout the course of your day. It even works with that pint of beer or glass of wine you grab with friends after work.
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"Tracking what you consume is as important if not more important than tracking the calories that we're burning through exercise," says Lee. "The goal of the Vessyl was to create something that is about what matters to you."
For a closer look at Vessyl, check out this video:
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For some, their goal might be to lose weight. To others what matters might be their caffeine intake throughout the day. If you're paying attention to every cup of joe, you can make sure you're alert for that big meeting but not jittery. When you pour a liquid into Vessyl, information about the drink you're consuming appears on the side, and the mobile app starts tracking every sip. Accidentally knock the cup over or decide to pour something out, and Vessyl won't track it as consumption.
Along with nutritional information, Vessyl also keeps track of your hydration throughout the day. The cup takes into account your nutritional needs and location, creating an optimal hydration score for you it calls Pryme. Much like you might use a fitness tracker to ensure you're moving enough, Vessyl displays Pryme as a line on the side of the cup to make sure you're drinking enough. The white line creeps up the side the more your drink, and turns blue when you've hydrated enough. Wait a few hours, and the line will start creeping back down, encouraging you to grab another glass of water.
While they've already got a prototype up and running, Vessyl isn't quite ready for Happy Hour just yet. The company launched a pre-order campaign today to raise money for the first run of cups. When it ships early next year each one will sell for $199. Early buyers can order one now for $99.
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