Eat smart with this connected iPad scale

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SITU is an attractive Bluetooth food scale that talks to your iPad. Apple employee Michael Grothaus, who has battled his weight since adolescence, got the idea his lunch hour at Caffè Macs. The scale tells you the exact nutritional content of any food you place on it, providing a breakdown of fat, calories, etc. The sleek lines won't clutter up your minimalist countertop; preorders for the SITU after a successful Kickstarter campaign are coming right up.
SITU scale creator Michael Grothaus says Cult of Mac was instrumental in his product's successful Kickstarter campaign. Photo: SITU

Back in May, we told you about the former Apple employee who was inspired by Apple’s on-campus cafeteria to create his own health-tech product.

Called SITU scale, the smart food scale connects to an iPad and weighs any food you place on it in calories and total nutrients in addition to grams and ounces. Having surpassed its Kickstarter goal by raising a total of almost $60,000, SITU creator and former Apple employee Michael Grothaus has announced that preorders have begun — with a promised delivery date of early March.

“It’s been a crazy ride to get here, but it’s been so worth it,” Grothaus says. “Choosing to Kickstart SITU was the best thing we could have done — and Cult of Mac was a big part of its success. I invented SITU because I wanted to lose weight and designed it with my needs in mind, but through all the open dialog with backers and people who would send us emails, we ended up making the product so much better.”

SITU helped Grothaus achieve his goals, with an early hardware prototype of the device assisting him in losing 60 pounds when he launched the original Kickstarter project. Since then, he says he’s lost another 20 pounds using more advanced prototypes, and has reached his health goals as a result.

The device works by connecting to an iPad via Bluetooth 4.0. Using a simple drag-and-drop interface, users can tell the scale what food is on it — with the app displaying the nutrition content on a label at the top of the screen. Users can weigh individual items, or build up entire meals on SITU and track their nutrition intake over time.

“I designed the interface with my mom in mind; so even non-techies could know how to use it just by glancing at it,” says Grothaus. He claims he has plenty of plans in store for SITU — both on the hardware and software side of things. “The interest we’ve gotten — not just from calorie counters, diabetics and athletes, but also tech companies — has been great. This is just the beginning for SITU. And we can’t wait to get it into everyone’s hands.”

SITU retails for £99 GBP (around $149) and works with any iPad (3rd generation or later), iPad Air or iPad mini. Those interested can preorder here.

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