Touch interactive kitchen faucet: we'll take one
By Laura June 
posted June 8th 2010 1:23PM
posted June 8th 2010 1:23PM
If you're like us, you spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen, and you're undoubtedly already aware of the fact that faucets usually leave plenty to be desired. They're often hideous, and are pretty inconveniently set up most of the time, too. This concept -- which has been fully produced as a prototype -- is made from a slab of Corian, and employs tap gestures for operation. Call us crazy, but we're ready to lay down some cash for one of these right now. Unfortunately, they're not for sale (at least not yet) but you can check it out further in the video below.
The Future that people in the 1950's thought that the 2000's was going to be is coming closer :)
@Hell Angel
Still... comforting a faucet... petting them? It's a stretch.
@who said what
.... You just made venture into thinking women using that faucet as a dildo...... ewww.....
@Hell Angel How do you associate petting with sexuality is beyond me.
@Techno1q
I'd rather have a faucet with a digital readout of temperature and force, like "95 degrees, 10 psi" or something like that (I have no idea if those numbers reflect anything relevant, just throwing them out there, lol).
Then you could set custom setting for 'washing dishes' (hot, medium pressure) or filling up water balloons (cold, low pressure so as not to burst those babies :).
This seems grossly over engineered. How about using water-proof buttons instead?
@tobsmonster2 The button you previously touched with your bacteria ridden hand!? Oh noes!
@Khalid Shahin
Good point. Logic > internets this time.
Should call it the iTap :P
@Redline I'd tap that.
@Redline lol :)
Seems to be kind of annoying to reach all the way back to turn it on.
@anonymouspam My wife's boss has one at her house. It's cool, you just touch any part of the faucet and it comes on or off.
"And I shall call him, Tap Tap!" ('Faucet'less UK readers, rejoice.)
Should be voice activated. So when it gets too hot, and you shout "&#$% that's HOT!" it'll make it hotter, just for lulz.
@Glitch
ROFL, now that's funny!
I'd tap that!
I have my ego, I don't need to have my faucet pet as well.
Is it activated by touch? The video makes it look like it's gesture controlled.
Just what I needed! A pet faucet!
This is stupid.
Errr Engadget, did you even watch the video? The whole point of the device is that you DONT have to touch it.
I think it's pretty silly. It's all fine when your hands are dry, but do want to flail your arms around when the water's too hot or cold?
"Oh woops, the touch sensor has stopped responding and the sink won't shut off."
@Prevacator What happens if there's a power blackout? How is one supposed to get a drink?
@Jive Turkey
Some smart faucets currently in the market are battery powered.
Gestures?? What's so hard about pushing the handle to the left or to the right?
umm..so instead of moving the handle all the way up and slightly left to get fast, warm water, i know have to wave my hand 5 times make sure the water is the right temperature and speed..real useful
Yeah, this is a great demonstration of exactly what technology we don't need in a tap (sorry I'm not calling them 'faucets').
the thing is, taps really do need a technology boost. this just isn't it.
here's how they could genuinely improve a tap: make temperature controls work. what I mean by that is, you can set a temperature, then you turn the tap on. then water comes out at that temperature. You don't get any water at some other temperature. I'm pretty sure this could be achievable by using a direct electric heater in the tap unit (point-of-use heating is efficient, too) and some clever engineering.
Touch controls aren't needed for a kitchen tap (it's not public toilets, you're not usually that worried about bacteria on the hands) so it's better to use physical controls for temperature and flow. Give us one control for temperature and one for flow; still two dials but not 'hot and cold' any more.
@xxxsam
As someone who dealt with direct heater units in my showers while living in Brazil, I can tell you that they are neither efficient nor safe. The number of shocks I got along with the volume of my screams while being scalded by overheated water are entered in as evidence of my claim of non-safety. As far as efficiency goes, you could refer back to my electricity bills to see how much juice those babies used. They're efficient in the same way space heaters are; which is to say, not.
@Cameron Maybe safety laws are different in the UK; I've lived in a couple places for the past 10 years, both with direct-heated showers, and certainly never had an electric shock. It is possible to design these things safely.
And I'm sure it's possible to make them inefficient but inherently they are definitely more efficient than keeping water heated in a large tank halfway across the building. (That said, gas heating is more efficient than electric, so I'm not sure it entirely makes up for that.)
@xxxsam
I absolutely agree the controls should be flow and temperature. Electric heating might not be as efficient as gas heating overall, but it would only need to be on for the first few seconds anyway.
However, I think touchless controls are quite useful in a kitchen when you're handling things like raw meat, or for greasy hands in general. I don't like having to clean the tap all the time.
No touching? Perfect for my OCD problem!
Faucets should be activated by foot pedal like in hospitals to keep their hands clean.
Is it just me that finds the notion of stroking a tap wrong? o.O
This is a little rediculous but it could be useful in commercial kitchens and hospitals. Otherwise it's just wank and another device to contribute to vampire power drain and energy inefficiency.
Wait ... I have to use my hands???
@Blackfeather It's like a babies faucet!
But that is really cool, I'd like one too.
It's a neat idea, but ultimately the interface is too slow.
It would be fun for a day and then annoying as hell.
I'd be happy with touch to start flow.
Maybe a couple of preprogrammed settings for temp/flow and you tough in different spots to start flow presets 1 through 5 or whatever.
Then maybe with voice over-ride.
"more water"
"less water"
"water off"
"112 degree water"
"water off"
etc....
This slowish motion petting stuff....... no.
In the future all items will be hideously over engineered. My kitchen tap doesn't need a microprocessor and power supply - it's mechanical with ergonomic controls that make it easy to set a temperature and flow rate that suits the task.
How the heck do you clean it, you'd need to fill the sink then turn off the power supply?
I don't have a kitchen, you insensitive clod!
This gorgeous faucet demonstrates the unique versatility of Corian(r). I love the sleek and functional design of this creative concept. Thanks for sharing, Christine from DuPont