Liftware

Lift Labs Inc.
FoundedJanuary 1, 2010; 15 years ago (2010-01-01)
FounderAnupam Pathak
Headquarters
San Francisco, CA, US
ProductsLiftware
OwnerGoogle (2014–2015)
Alphabet Inc. (2015–present)
ParentGoogle (2014–2015)
Verily Life Sciences
(2015–present)
Websiteliftware.com

Liftware is a brand name for a spoon designed to counteract the tremor associated with medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease[1] or essential tremors. The company which designed the projects, Lift Labs, was founded by Anupam Pathak, a University of Michigan Ph.D. student.[2]

The device works by detecting tremors with an accelerometer then responding to them with an actuator.[3] The product first became available in December 2013.[4]

Lift Labs (which made the Liftware spoon) was acquired by Google in September 2014 for integration into then life sciences division of Google X.[5] Anupam Pathak became the technical lead for the division.[2]

Google launched its version of the spoon in November 2014, priced at $195.[6]

References

  1. ^ Neckar, Elisa (15 April 2014). "A Steady Spoon for a Shaky Hand". discovermagazine.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b Rushe, Dominic (2014-11-25). "Google launches 'smart' spoon to help steady shaking hands". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  3. ^ Gruneisen, T.A. (26 August 2013). "A New Spoon for Shaky Eaters". wired.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  4. ^ Jaffe, Ina (13 May 2014). "A Spoon That Shakes To Counteract Hand Tremors". npr.org. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  5. ^ Dougherty, Conor (10 September 2014). "Google Buys Lift Labs in Further Biotech Push - NYTimes.com". bits.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Liftware". Retrieved 28 February 2016.