HAPILABS' HAPIfork is a "smart fork" designed to monitor your eating habits. The motivation behind its creation is that eating more slowly is better for your health and your ability to stay (or get) slim. The concept gained a great deal of press attention at the beginning of the year when it was one of the stars of CES 2013 and now it's arrived on Kickstarter in an effort to raise US$100,000 to fund its initial product launch.
Many of us really don't pay attention to the speed at which we eat. As it takes around 20 minutes for the brain to register that your appetite has been properly satiated, fast eaters often overeat, and then feel full and bloated when their brain finally catches up with their stomach. As we're seemingly not capable of regulating our own eating speed, the HAPIfork has been designed to do it for us, measuring the number of servings eaten per minute and per meal, the interval between servings, and the duration of each meal.
Once HAPIfork has compiled the data it becomes available to view through the online dashboard, both on a computer and an iPhone or Android phone. This is all achieved by the electronics embedded in the HAPIfork, which includes a vibration pack, LEDs, a battery pack, and a capacitive detection sensor located in the prongs. HAPILABS says that HAPIfork can be used just like a normal fork, able to withstand everyday mishaps, and be cleaned in a dishwasher. More details about the HAPIfork and how it works can be found in our previous coverage of the concept.
To pre-order a HAPIfork will cost US$89 (with 2500 units being produced at this price). A slightly higher $99 price has been set for when HAPIfork goes on sale to the general public. This is expected to happen in Q4 2013, with an initial launch limited to the US and Europe.
The video below is the HAPIfork Kickstarter pitch, with some background information on the product's origins.
Source: Kickstarter
