Enjoy the good weather with new ‘brainy’ BBiQ gadget

The good weather has hit the United Kingdom and everyone is burning their skin lying out for longer than they should in the sun. If you don't want to burn your BBQ feast this weekend then new gadget currently running as a KickStarter campaign might ease the pain.

The BBiQ was created by Patrick Smith and Michael Raymond and it includes a set of probes that grillers can inject into their meat to monitor the temperature. No more biting into a half cooked burger!

The BBiQ can send information via BlueTooth to the iPhone or Android software application up to 50 foot away from the grill. This means you are no longer tied to the grill while everyone else soaks in the sun and enjoys the pleasures of a beer or glass of wine. There are similar devices already available, but the BBiQ has some integrated recipes as well.

The BBiQ can work within the parameters of a specific recipe to alert the grill master when the meat needs to be flipped over, then when it is time to season and subsequently stop cooking. The BBiQ can also work with multiple menu meals, suggesting when you put on the multiple items and if you should wait between adding items to make sure they are ready together.

Michael Raymond said “What always bothered me about regular food probes is that you needed to know the temperature for whatever you were trying to cook. And even if you memorized the temperature charts and set an alarm, it only tells you when the food is fully cooked. What about when to turn it or when to add seasoning? That was just something you had to figure out for yourself.”

The system can be adapted to add new menus if you want to supplement with your own ideas and recipes.

The BBiQ uses a ATmega328 microcontroller and supports one or two probes. There is a plan to make one which can support three probes for really complex BBQ systems. Along with the probes, they will supply a buzzer (in case you fall asleep) and an LED. The BBiQ can also send alerts to the user's smartphone. The next stage would be making a call to the police and firemen when the BBQ catches fire and sets the garden alight.

The KickStarter campaign is set to raise $75,000. a basic $29 pledge will get you a single probe BBiQ and an advanced model with three probes and rechargeable batteries will cost $89. So far they have raised only $3,000 with 40 days to go.

More information is available here and you can join in KickStarter funding here.

Kitguru says: Or you could hire a chef to just handle the BBQ for you!

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