We all know that you should boil only what you need in a kettle to avoid wasting energy, but overfilling is still very common. The Miito combats this problem by using induction heating to boil just the water you need.
The humble kettle has stood the test of time, but that hasn't stopped attempts to reinvent it. Stanislav Sabo's clever folding kettle and the Eco Kettle that uses two water chambers to help save energy are recent examples. Like the Eco Kettle, the Miito seeks to improve energy by boiling only the amount of water that is required.
The Miito, created by Nils Chudy and Jasmina Grase, is like a miniature induction cooktop. It comprises a base unit containing an electromagnet that is plugged into a wall socket, and a thin metal rod with a large round foot and a plastic-coated tip to hold. In order to boil liquid, the rod is placed into the vessel and the vessel placed onto the base. Electromagnetic induction heats the metal rod, the rod heats the water.
By using this process, only the water in the vessel is heated by only the area of the base unit closest to the base of the rod. There is no excess water heated and no excess heat energy lost from the base unit, as is the case with electric hobs. The process is efficient and quick. The Miito is also said to minimize the formation of limescale.
"Induction is a very efficient way to transfer energy," explains Chudy. "We estimate a cup of water will boil within one minute, but we cannot give a final figure yet because Miito is still in development."
Once the liquid in the vessel has boiled, Miito goes back into standby mode. The rod can then be removed, cleaned and placed back onto the base unit, which switches off the device. Miito can be used with virtually any liquid (certainly any that you'll be wanting to drink, such as soup and milk,) and any non-ferrous vessel.
There is no date for availability as yet, but those who wish to be can request to be kept up-to-date via email.
The video below provides an introduction to the Miito.
Source: Miito
The lower efficiency comment is accurate if you are comparing the same amount of water but while I'm generally quite cynical about product claims I think its reasonable in this case to argue that its efficiency has the benefit of never heating more water than you need to. (Acknowledging that doing multiple cups may not be as convenient)
I would venture that after a year of use this will be much friendlier to look at (ie clean) than a typical kettle.