Baidu Unveils 'Smart Chopsticks' for Food Safety Testing
TechWeb, 9/03/14
At Baidu's (Nasdaq: BIDU) Baidu World 2014 conference in Beijing today, the Chinese search giant unveiled a portable food analysis device, "Baidu Kuaisou," which will soon be ready for mass production.
The portable food testing device, which connects to user smartphones, looks like a pair of chopsticks and can be used to detect dirty cooking oil used in food, food acidity and sweetness, and the variety and origin of food products.
The chopsticks operate though various sensors that measure a series of physical/chemical properties including pH level, temperature, oil quality and salt concentration. The four data points are sent to a user smartphones and LED lights at the end of the chopsticks indicate the safety of food.
Baidu is reportedly taking steps towards mass production of the device, and the company's research and development teams are already at work on devices to detect melamine in dairy products and test for tainted meat and eggs.