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Liftware’s Level electronic utensil helps people with Huntington’s feed themselves

Liftware’s Level electronic utensil helps people with Huntington’s feed themselves

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Liftware, a company known for its Steady electronic spoon designed to help individuals suffering from hand tremors or Parkinson's disease eat, is back with its second product, the Level. Like the Steady, the Level is an electronic eating utensil, and is the first product released by Liftware since its acquisition by Google and integration into Alphabet's Verily Life Sciences division last year.

The Level is meant to help those who have limited hand and arm mobility — such as individuals suffering from Huntington's disease — keep a utensil at a proper angle to more easily eat food. The Level uses a variety of sensors to keep the head of the utensil at the intended angle by tracking its movement and bending the flexible joint to avoid spilling or dropping any food. Instead of steadying the utensil to counteract tremors, like the Steady, the Level bends at the neck to keep the head angled correctly, no matter how you move it.

It's probably not a perfect system for those who are afflicted with limited mobility, but it certainly looks to be better than conventional cutlery. Like the original Steady, the Level uses interchangeable attachment heads to allow it to function as a fork or spoon (the attachment heads aren't cross-compatible between the Steady and Level models, however). Liftware claims that the battery lasts for around an hour of continuous use, or "approximately 3 meals" before needing to be recharged, which can be done using the included adaptor.

Price-wise, Liftware sells the Level in a $195 starter kit, which includes the Level base, a soup spoon attachment, and charging adapter. Additional attachments, including a fork head that isn't included with the starter kit, run for $34.95, which seems a bit expensive given that the attachment doesn't actually contain any technological components. The Level is available for preorder from Liftware's website, with orders estimated to be delivered by December 23rd at the latest.