Better idea: go with induction cookers. My induction cooker has automatic shutoff if the cookware overheats, such as when food cooks dry. It also has a timer if I want to simmer something for a few hours. Those advantages are on top of the inherent speed and energy efficiency advantages induction cooking has over electric stoves.

Yet another way to protect humans from themselves.
It seems that each year we get more and more nannys to protect us from ourselves. Though in reality, these devices make us more reliant on technology, give us the false belief that we can multitask and degrade the value of common sense even further.

Rt1583 misses the point. This device isn't about multitasking or nannying, but about the many older people who live alone and who are a bit forgetful. For them, a low cost device such as this will be very reassuring. Also, Gadgeteer, those older people are the generation for whom switching to a stove with an induction hob would be seen as a more expensive and less desirable option owing to have to buy new pans and having to learn to cook with a more responsive heat . What's more, an induction hob often comes with a conventionally heated oven that may also be left on.
By the way, there is already a thermal gas shutoff valve available in parts of Europe.
Steve Hards Editor, Telecare Aware

I've got a pot with Nagasaki rice profiles on it to prove the need for this device...

Agree wth Steve.
It's not really "nannying," you have to make the decision to go out and buy one.
And Gadgeteer's solution is awesome, if you want to go out and buy a new stove or separate coil for as much or more instead of using the stove you already have. Wasteful.

I am glad to see some recognition given to products like this as they could save a lot of lives. They also make fire extinguishers for the cooktop that magnetize under the rangehood and work when flame-activated in case someone walks away while cooking. There's one called Auto-Out that lasts for six years and it's maintenance free. You can find it for $54 on Amazon.com.

Joe F,
Wasteful? Electric stoves are some of the most inefficient appliances in the kitchen, using far more electricity than induction cookers. In the summer, they can contribute copious amounts of heat to the kitchen environment, heat that air conditioners have to work harder to eliminate. And standalone induction cookers can be purchased for as little as $50 nowadays, not exactly "as much or more" as this $90 gadget.
I find stevehards attitude puzzling. He instantly assumes it's for the elderly, and apparently only the elderly of limited means. Having to buy new pans? Among other things, the older generation is more likely to already own induction-friendly steel and cast iron pans rather than nonstick aluminum. Meanwhile, the affluent younger consumers (and even affluent retirees) that he dismisses are more likely to own convection or convection-microwave ovens, which also include full electronic controls with timers. Most oven cooking is done with microwave ovens today anyway, which again have timers.

I was wondering about the three minute figure.
How long does it take a fat fire to go from smoke to a raging inferno?

Domestic kitchen fires are the second most cause of injury and death after smoking within the home, so any technology that can reduce these figures is to be welcomed. I work closely with a manufacturer and represent them in the UK, they have developed a similar product and take two approaches to managing potential cooker top fires. The first is a stand alone Stove Alarm which monitors the cooker top activity and sounds an alert, it is not affected by normal cooking and sensitivity can be adjusted to suit local conditions. The second approach is an integrated cooker system which has a radio frequency version of the Stove Alarm to not only sound the alert but will after 1 minute send a radio signal to the Stove Guard to turn off the cooker supply, so extinguishing the source of ignition. The Stove Guard will also react to the audible signals from other detectors such as smoke, CO2, Gas etc and turn off the cooker supply. In addition there is an alarm jack plug output to allow connection of a Telecare transmitter which can then communicate with a lifeline telephone and hence to a monitoring centre if so desired.

Yes, Gadgeteer I find buying a new appliance when you have one that works wasteful. If someone replaces their stove, it might just end up a big appliance in a big dump. Just because you can get a cheap entry one for 50 bucks, doesn't mean that many of them don't cost "as much or more" than $90. So if you like cooking with your stove, why would you buy an induction stove that you don't want instead of just buying this? Because Gadgeteer likes it better?