SensoryMetrics: re-inventing the User eXperience

I was out shopping for a decent coffee maker a couple days ago and realized - they’re all the same crappy design that’s been around for 40 years! I’m not looking for an espresso-type which uses steam. I already have a french press - that works fine for 2 cups. A simple auto 12-cup is all I seek. The only “innovation” the automatic coffee maker sees is add-ons - timers, USB connectors, chrome (not the browser!) There’s probably one with an iPod connector! Despite the gadgets, little has changed with how the coffee is brewed - heat some water through a tube and gravity takes care of the rest. Lately, searching the US Patent Office - most patents for coffee makers are mere design registrations (how it looks, not how it works.)

I’m not the only person looking for a new coffee maker. Story goes… an Iowa woman had her morning coffee a few days ago. She had programmed it the night before. Later that day, while cleaning it, she found a dead bat in the filter. Yep - she drank bat brew for breakfast… then rabies shots for dinner!

I think the VCs have a golden opportunity here - fund some smart university students to invent some kind of “steam-drip-pressure-infused” automatic coffee making process. Make sure they make it bat-proof!

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Filed under: Bones, Business, Gadgets, Innovation