MilkmaidClassy as it may be, sniffing a milk carton to see if its contents have spoiled isn’t terribly precise. That pensive moment right before the sniff (or worse, taste) is downright Neanderthal. In an attempt to get us beyond this is the Milkmaid, winner of a Quirky and GE sponsored innovation contest.
Basically, the Milkmaid tells you when your milk has gone bad and reminds you to buy more. By measuring temperature and pH levels and sending those readings to a microcontroller in the smart base, the Milkmaid knows how good or bad the milk is. That smart base also has a weight sensor to alert you when you’re running low via a GSM radio, an antenna, and a rechargeable battery. If the pH level reaches the danger zone, or if you’re almost out, Milkmaid sends you a text message to pick up more.
These features alone are enough to pique the interest of any regular milk drinker, but there are even a few apps in the works to add further benefits. Most notable, the ability to talk to your Milkmaid via mobile app to see how much milk is left and how much longer it will last. If you’re at the store and don’t know if you have enough milk for that tres leches cake (we assume you’re a modern, baking sort of man), the app will let you know.
Quirky has a working prototype up and running, so what’s left to see is if there are enough milk drinkers to take this product to the masses. We’re hoping they do because we’re all about letting technology take over sniff-testing.
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