Hacker News Reader

Comment by div | Hacker News Reader

Curious about how many other cool projects / companies can come out of that line of thought:

"Here's a plain everyday thing that everyone wants to ignore, let's make it a cherished item"

A learning toaster that can find the sweet spot between warm bread and coal. Works if I've put in frozen bread or bread from fridge or bread from the bread bin.

Somebody please make this! How hard could it be? No, forget about that -- I'd throw money at you. Heck, I'd work for you while throwing money at you while coding for you.

I love toast.

A toaster that includes some kind of simple camera to monitor how dark the toast is getting would be great - I'd buy one.

Toasters with a toast color sensor has been around for at least a couple of years if not longer. They just don't advertise them that way.

Thanks - finding one was easy once I knew they existed! :-)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Kitchen-Home-Supplier-HD2580...

There are already "transparent" toasters with windows on their sides. This is low-tech, but I imagine works better and is cheaper than having a camera inside your toaster (an environment which is dark and hot).

Yes, the dark current on that camera would be substantial.

I remember seeing a guy design a toaster that had a component from a smoke detector in it which (i'm quoting form memory here) monitored the amount of carbon or something being released (???).

The problem, as I'm sure we're all aware, is that toasters are very slow when you start using them, but if you make three or four rounds of toast one ofter the other, each batch toasts quicker. This smoke detector method solved that problem....

Although I've not seen it on the market, so perhaps it didn't work. But still, a novel idea.

What if you eat rye bread?

This has sort of existed since the '40s, using radiant heat from the bread: http://www.automaticbeyondbelief.org/

I haven't tested this, but you're probably have issues with e.g. dark rye.

Dyson seems to be doing quite well at that game in the household appliances business.

Give me a tap that will expand that sweet spot between way too hot and way too cold.

Or one with an adjustable middle section.. Gears?

Just use a thermostat on your tap.

Are mixer taps insufficient?

Mixer taps are great, but you still have the problem that a small amount of movement is required to get the temperature just right.

I've used a couple of taps that actually have a nice, smooth gradient between cool and warm, though it would be fun to design a temperature-controlled tap that cranks open the hot water as the water heater tank is drained.

They've been out for a while. Expensive, and I don't remember the name, but they are there. My shower has "scald control" so if someone flushes a toilet nearby the temperature doesn't change, but I don't think that's what you are after?

Search the usual suspects" Moen, Delta, Kohler, etc.

Here's one: http://bathroom-kitchen-faucets.com/hot-cold-automatic-senso...

The Learning Toilet.

Takes shit from no one?

You laugh, but TOTO is a hugely successful corporation that's spent millions on toilet R&D. If this bathroom doesn't fall into "object of day to day use made into a cherished item" I don't know what does: http://www.totousa.com/Neorest/NeorestSuite.aspx

Swiss rival Geberit also make a badass robot toilet [1], and they invest huge amounts in everything from software to water-flow acoustics in the home.

[1] http://www.geberit.co.uk/web/appl/uk/wcmsuk.nsf/pages/prod-a...

I remember predictions written in the 1990's of toilets that would automatically provide early screening for cancer.

How much of their millions in R&D goes toward that?

Even TOTO's bare-bones low-volume-flush toilets are remarkably effective and well-designed. I replaced some very expensive Kohlers with TOTOs and was impressed.

Nearly shit myself when I saw the price tag on some of those! Looks nice, but damn. A $250 thermostat is fairly reasonable, but a $5k toilet is way outside the WAF (Wife Approval Factor).

I think most people get that as a line item on their $450,000 house.

Ever seen a Japanese toilet?

Google has them installed in the Mountain View campus, and probably in their other locations as well.

No. Elaborate...

From personal experience... my grandparents had one in their house (I think it must be a decade old) that would wash and dry everything. You could control the temperature and water pressure. It also had temperature controls for the seat. I think there were more functions I didn't know how to use.

It is strange that we haven't made this as comfortable an experience as our modern technologies/engineering allow. It's the equivalent of us still using the same type of mattress they used in the 1920's. I sleep on a "sleep number" and it's WAY more comfortable. I should be able to take a deuce on a way more comfortable toilet. Heated seat, automated flushing and paper dissension, automated seat rising and collapsing. When you are done using it, it should revert to a "closed" or "sleep" mode. The flush should be a pleasant sound enhanced by audio of your choosing etc. It should be a personalized experience.

A toilet that tells you if are dehydrated and need to drink more, that'd be neat. Or perhaps automatically checks if your kids are doing drugs (maybe that's too far).

I would think they would start pissing in the sink or going to the bathroom at restaurants instead. But it is an interesting idea.

You're right, it'd only work if they didn't know about it.

A normal toilet is a problem for most men: it's either loud to use, or you get some sprayback. A solution to this problem would capture the entire toilet market.

Any water saving toilet solves this problem by giving you a huge ceramic area in the bin to aim for. At least in my experience.

A toilet with a built-in urinalysis system.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com