A new vision of familiar things. Really smart kettle

Many items around us are acquiring new functions in accordance with the spirit of the times. AI, ML, algorithms, connection to a smartphone through an application — all these and other features introduced into household items in 90% of cases don’t meet the user’s needs. Of course, these features can influence the buyer’s choice and increase the purchase price. But on the other hand, these features could be underutilized or create additional problems during the ownership process.

In our project, we take several steps that would expand the capabilities and functionality of a simple household appliance, for example, an electric kettle. How many times have you turned on the kettle and forgot to make tea? How much water did you spill while preparing tea?

We defined the next problems:

• The appearance of an air bubble and, as a result, splashing water past the cup;
• Spilling water during boiling before switching off at maximum filling of the kettle;
• Regulation of temperature and its preservation;
• Informing the user about the completion of water heating.

The problem of water splashing from the teapot spout is common to most electric kettles of different brands. As a rule, this splashing of water isn’t observed in all kettles – usually, it is a problem of the overflow of water and the configuration of body parts made of plastic and metal, which are subject to thermal expansion.

Sure, there are models where this problem has been solved, but there aren’t so many of them. We conducted a small experiment and identified the causes of this problem:

• Configuration of the teapot spout:
• Air bubble formation when tilted.

We offer a simple solution — the spout of the kettle should be either level or slightly above the kettle lid. The shape of the spout is also important. It should be smooth, and the section should be arched.

In addition, the following functions can be implemented:

• Regulation of water with a sensor of its availability;
• Creation of a heat-insulating body to keep warm;

Remote control switching on

• Setting the temperature required for the correct brewing of various types of tea.

Our kettle also has the function of pairing with a smartphone, since a modern person always keeps a smartphone with him(her)self. The electric kettle transmits information through the application. The user can choose the information mode himself: ringtone, light indication, and frequency of notifications.

At the same time, the kettle maintains temperature for a long time, thereby saving energy.

Images: Stanislav Ameltchenko, Valery Martynenko
Text: Verdesta team