Right now, those three devices are the only items in Quirky’s Poppy line, which is set to launch later this year, but its inventor community has glommed on to the idea of incorporating DRS into a slew of others. One that’s currently in the development phase (and not guaranteed to make it to market) is a connected wine rack, the Poppy Reserve. Much like a coffee machine that reorders beans when you’re running low, the rack would refill your vino supply when you only have a bottle or two left. With your accompanying profile, the DRS would know your favorite wineries and styles, so cabernet lovers aren’t stuck swilling merlot. Pressure-sensitive sensors on the wine rack would know when you remove bottles, while others would detect temperature and send alerts when the conditions aren’t ideal for your bottle of Bordeaux.
Quirky recently made some changes to the way it develops new ideas from its community. With Powered by Quirky, the company will let its partners, such as GE, handle the development, manufacturing, and distribution of potential products in specific categories, though Quirky will still handle ideas in the connected home, electronics, and appliances spaces.
The alterations haven’t stopped the tide of submissions, and many aim to take advantage of the relationship between Amazon and Poppy. A Poppy breadmaker, liquor dispenser, and combination tampon-toilet paper dispenser are just a few of the user-submitted from this month.
Simply because a product makes it all the way from idea to on sale doesn’t automatically make it a success. The Quirky Egg Minder, which used pre-Dash technology to remind users when they were low on eggs, has a mix of frustrated and tongue-in-cheek, hyperbolic (“Great value. No more paying an egg-sitter!”) reviews on Amazon.
