Meet Klove: the gas stove knob that guides you as you cook

Bisi bele bath is a traditional and popular dish in Bangalore – rice, lentils, vegetables, and spices in a pot. To get it right, you need to semi-cook the carrots, peas, and beans, mix them in with semi-cooked rice and lentils, and bring the whole to a composite finish. The aroma of spices popped in hot oil and added to the pot will make your neighbors sniff the air and smile.

Bahubali Shete, a gadget geek in Bangalore who is also a weekend cook, has cooked bisi bele bath a few times. His routine was to call out to his wife Asha for directions. Now a smartphone app linked to a smart knob on his stove can talk him through this dish or any other recipe pulled from the internet. You can also feed your favorite recipes into the app.

We’re following the trail of Alexa and Echo.

Called Klove, it can replace the knob of a common gas stove or oven. It has sensors to monitor what’s cooking, and is connected to the internet. Its accompanying AI-powered app can parse through recipes and use Amazon’s Alexa to interact with the user by voice.

It can also combine with Amazon’s Echo speaker to avoid using a phone which requires you to be within 5 feet. In the kitchen, it’s more convenient to speak to the Echo which has a range of 20 feet.

Klove went live on Indiegogo today. Early adopters get a discounted price of US$29. It will retail at US$39.

Shete, the creator of the smart knob, is first targeting the US and European markets, where Alexa and Echo can be used with Klove. So the first use cases are more likely to be pan-seared salmon or a paella than bisi bele bath or biryani.

“We’re following the trail of Alexa and Echo, which will arrive in India by year-end. So in 2018, we’ll be in India as well,” Shete tells Tech in Asia. Alexa is still mastering accents in India and other Asian countries.

Sold his earlier startup to Motorola licensee

This isn’t Shete’s first venture. His earlier startup Connovate also dabbled in internet-enabled products using embedded systems. A popular device was the coin-sized Gecko, which could go into a keychain and help you find a lost phone. It could also trigger the smartphone to play music or take photos with gesture control.

This early internet-connected product launched on Indiegogo in 2013 and won support from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniac, who quipped: “I contributed to this – useful as well as prankful.” It was the first major crowdfunding success for a gadget from India, raising US$135,000 against an initial target of US$50,000.

Hong Kong-based Binatone, a licensee of Motorola, acquired Connovate for its internet-enabled devices. Shete stayed on to help convert Connovate products into Motorola ones. When that stint ended last year, it was time to start up again.

See: 20 Indian startups poised to expand in global markets

IoT (internet of things) had become a buzzword by then, as new possibilities emerged with advances in smartphones and AI. For Shete, it was old wine in a new bottle.

His vision of a smart kitchen

Virtual chef

Challenges of speed and scale

Made in China