Bite Technologies was founded in 2009 after Dr Adam Hoover and Dr Eric Muth of Clemson University developed a device that can count the number of bites one takes while eating. The purpose? A new way to count calories without having to do anything.
Their device, the Bite Counter, is worn like a watch. When activated, the user will turn their wrist down to pick up a food item, and turn the wrist sideways to consume it. In other words the Bite Counter measures the number of times the user turns their wrist in a meal session. This also works for taking a drink. "Our patent pending technology uses this principle along with sophisticated filters and heuristics to determine when the user has taken a bite of food or drink of liquid." The Bite Counter has a "buzzer" that can be user set when a bite limit has been reached. Data from 320 meal sessions could be stored on the wrist mounted device, and can be downloaded via USB for later review. The 3.6v Li-ion rechargeable battery has will run the device for 14 hours, or 2 weeks of use, since the Bite Counter is supposed to be turned on and off during meal sessions.
Sounds like a simple accelerometer based project. It can be had for the low price of $800 USD.
The immediate reaction I had was, how does it know what foods I am eating. What if I eat a whole cake verses a salad? The company states that over time, the caloric intake will average out to be the same per bite. "People also tend to eat the same foods week to week, further stabilizing the calorie/bite relationship," the company stated in their FAQ.
What is more important about the Bite Counter is not the device itself, but the building of a company around a single product. More engineers should take the risk and try selling their ideas and creativity. Bite Technologies' website is not impressive, but their effort may turn out to be revolutionary. They are trying.
Take the risk.
Eavesdropper
