Technology: Chameloen Mug @ MIT

The Chameleon Mug introduces one way of making handheld computers for the kitchen. Using LCDs, bimetal strips, thermoresisters and Thermochromic ink as sensors, Chameleon Mug is a vessel which changes color, displays safety messages and/or springs a handle to demonstrate the whether the fluid in it is hot or cold.

While the initial reasons for this research were to explore the safety and aesthetic issues of making a cold beverage tumbler which could turn into a hot beverage mug, our researchers have uncovered many more uses for sensors within the context of a drinking vessel. For example, various sensors could detect the concentration of sugar or lactose in a beverage, warn of bad milk or mix the fluids ultrasonically.