The problem: Companies are starting to apply a combination of smart apps, cloud, sensors and other technologies to make the kitchen more responsive and intelligent.
The answer: According to THINGK, consumers do not want ugly appliances cluttering up their kitchen counters. The company’s manifesto reads, “We are tired of dumb objects, of inanimate pieces, of single-function products. We believe in elegance and beauty.”
The design studio creates devices that are able to put in several shifts and blends them with sleek finishing. There’s ‘GKILO’, a minimalist wooden scales that, when flipped over, becomes a clock. Then there’s ‘CLOGK’, which functions both as a clock and a timer.
Both devices have cleverly hidden white LEDs and connect wirelessly to an app, which allows them to work in sync. No buttons are visible: the devices use hidden touch sensors to dictate function. Through the app you can choose the food you are weighing and the app will propose the cooking time for that food and for that weight, setting the timer.
The company: THINGK is composed of three electronic engineers, Stefano Marangoni, Andrea Gallivanoni and Giuseppe Valenti, a designer, Umberto Tolino, and software guru, Domenico Cosentino. Last year the company reached its target of raising $50,000 on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. It is working with an IP lawyer to file five patents.
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.