Milkmaid, the smart milk jug. Developed over the course of a month for The Quirky + GE Project, Milkmaid addresses the issue of wasted milk due to spoilage. Submitted by Stephanie Burns, Milkmaid was brought to life with the help of 1,866 Quirky community members.

Developed by a product development team at Quirky during a partnership with General Electric, the company has created a new take on the milk jug that feeds the owner data regarding the quality and quantity of remaining milk. Called the Milkmaid, the clear glass jug monitors the pH balance of a liquid such as milk and sends the owner a text message indicating that the milk has spoiled. The base designed for the jug uses red and green indicator lights in order to alert the owner that the milk is good or bad when they open the fridge. The lights also offer a second visual indicator when the amount of milk in the jug drops.

In addition to helping the Milkmaid owner avoid drinking rotten milk, text messages are also sent when the jug is completely empty. This could be ideal to automatically alert the head of the household to pick up a quart of milk on the way home from work.

The Milkmaid, the smart milk jug, was chosen as the winner of The Quirky + GE Project. This quart size milk jug is a glass container that plugs into a smart base that stays in your fridge. The Milkmaid is able to sense if your milk is spoiled as well as how soon it will spoil by using pH sensors. The weight sensor in the base will also tell you how many cups of milk you have left. On the milk jug itself there is a temperature sensor to alert you when your milk is left out too long to minimize the risk of developing harmful bacteria. All of this information can be accessed remotely by a free iPhone app.

Thanks DigitalTrends