Children find drinking water boring, bland, and even repulsive. Parents are concerned about how regular, and how much water their children drink, especially when the kids are on their own.

We want to design an interactive device, that changes the process of water-drinking from boring to fun. So the children could self-cultivate a healthy drinking habit, and the parents could be informed with instant water-drinking data. Cooperated with Bowhead Technology, we developed BeanSpout - an internet connected smart cup featuring "Pet In A Cup", to solve the problem.

- TECHNOLOGY BARRIER AND BREAK-THROUGH

• A huge barrier of integrating cross-over technologies, including: electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, firmware, mobile app, cloud computing, a light game engine and open API.

• We modify a very affordable feature phone solutions, customize it and then apply it to our connected smart up.

• IOT sensor technologies: Multiple sensors used: motion sensor, inclinometer sensor, liquid level sensors accurately measure and record users' drinking pattern. Motion sensor and inclinometer sensors together, can detect whether the water is drunk or deliberately poured out. The Liquid-level sensor accurately measures the amount of water consumed.

• Once BeanSpout is connected to the cloud, the data is uploaded and then parents are informed of drinking water.

- HOW THE TECHNOLOGIES WORK TOGETHER

• Parents set the water drinking “goals” on the app, and children choose their favorite virtual pets.  

• As more water is consumed, the PET-IN-THE-CUP grows and evolves. That makes water drinking fun and rewarding.

• The multiple sensors accurately measure and record users' drinking pattern. 

• Once BeanSpout is connected to the cloud, the data is uploaded and then parents are informed. 

• More games will be introduced to our platform in the near future, so that children will never get bored of drinking water

During the initial setup, our young users get to choose their favorite virtual pets for the cup. And parents then set the drinking “goals”, based on their children's age and lifestyle, to regulate their water-drinking patterns. The multiple sensors accurately measure the amount of water consumed, recording the user’s drinking pattern over time. Once BeanSpout is connected to WIFI, children's drinking data are automatically uploaded to the cloud, and parents are timely informed through the app. As the child drinks more water, Pet In A Cup grows and evolves. That makes drinking fun and rewarding.