Kohler’s latest invention promises to take care of our intestinal health using AI algorithms.
Who in their right mind would think of putting a camera in the toilet? If the camera also costs $600, the whole thing sounds even crazier. It’s Kohler’s latest idea, and it makes more sense than it seems.
Monitoring even the poop
Smartwatches and wristbands have created a whole culture of health monitoring. It’s what we used to call the “quantified self” a few years ago, but tracking steps was just the beginning. Today, any wearable device can record our heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and even measure our sleep.
Where smartwatches and smart rings can’t reach, a whole category of health monitoring devices has emerged, such as smart scales or Kohler’s proposal with the Dekoda camera. This isn’t the first in this line; a couple of years ago, we talked about Withings’ urine detection sensor.
Dekoda: the camera that analyzes your bowel movements
Kohler is one of the most recognized household product manufacturers in the United States. They recently announced the creation of a new division focused on health, and their first product is Dekoda, a camera that is installed in the toilet to record the frequency and characteristics of our bowel movements.
Dekoda features ” advanced optical sensors and spectroscopy, which effortlessly observe how light interacts with your waste to learn to detect variations that could indicate health issues.” Kohler says Dekoda is backed by more than 10 years of research to ensure accurate and reliable results.
Dekoda comes with a mobile app that transmits data (thankfully, not photos) and helps detect health problems such as dehydration or blood in stool, which can be indicative of serious illnesses. It also offers nutritional suggestions and lifestyle changes. To ensure privacy, all content is encrypted and can be protected by a fingerprint. It also comes with a wall-mounted remote control that scans fingerprints and distinguishes between users.
The camera sits on the rim of the toilet bowl (it can be placed on any toilet; it doesn’t have to be a Kohler one) and runs on a removable rechargeable battery. It costs $599, but you also need a Kohler Health subscription to use the app, which adds $70 per user per year or $130 for multiple users.
