Home Smart 100 2014 Toast Colour Sensor (SA) – 2014 SMART 100

Toast Colour Sensor (SA) – 2014 SMART 100

4

This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

1. THE BEGINNING

This innovation came to life when…

Three physicists sharing an office at the University of Adelaide realised they could solve everyday problems with techniques borrowed from science.

One of the inventors was frustrated that to make his medium cooked toast he would have to change the toaster’s setting depending on whether the bread was frozen or fresh. Without continuously checking on the toast, the result was often overcooked or burnt.

After some careful thought and a few late night experiments, the trio were convinced they had an answer to this common problem and soon developed a sensor that can be integrated into a household toaster.

2. WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

Remove the unnecessary effort and attention required for the simple task of making toast in the morning. This gives people time to focus on more important things while producing perfect toast every time.

It does this by…

Continuously measuring the colour of the bread as it toasts and stopping it when the desired shade is reached. The sensor uses a laboratory style spectroscopic measurement technique in a form suitable for a consumer device.

3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

Every toaster on the market uses time to determine when to finish toasting.

The huge variety of bread types, that can also be fresh or frozen, requires trial and error and constant monitoring of the toaster to produce toast just the way people like it, not to mention avoiding burning it altogether.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

Cooking perfect toast with less effort, time saving, intuitive control (‘set and forget’) and consistent results regardless of bread type. The sensor also naturally ensures the toast will never burn, reducing waste and, importantly, making for a much safer appliance.

4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

Leaving monitoring of the toast to the user. Current products rely on making it easier to watch the toast during cooking, e.g., transparent toasters, but they still require the user to monitor and stop the toasting at the right time. Our invention is the first real solution to this problem, allowing the toaster to watch the bread for you.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

Most major toaster manufacturers have started introducing features to tackle this problem, but all of those on the market fall into the category of making the toast more visible.

5. TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

Toaster manufacturers to integrate with their toasters.

It is available for sale through…

We will be releasing more details when we launch.

Our marketing strategy is to…

Approach major toaster manufacturers in order to sell our sensor as a component they can integrate with their own products.

Your Turn — VOTE!

The Readers’ Choice Index was created to provide an opportunity for Anthill readers to vote on SMART 100 applications, in one of three ways:

  1. Tweet it: Top left of each page (3 points)
  2. Trigger a Reaction: Facebook ‘Like’, etc (2 points)
  3. Leave a Comment: Anonymous comments excluded (1 points)

We’ll use your vote to create the 2014 SMART 100 Readers’ Choice Index.

FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

\