Liftware

Liftware builds electronic eating aids for people whose hands shake or whose reach is limited. Its two product families — Steady, for hand tremor, and Level, for restricted hand and arm mobility — pair a sensor-driven handle with interchangeable spoon, fork and spork attachments, so a meal can be eaten with more dignity.

Founded in 2012 by scientists and engineers, the team joined Google Life Sciences in 2014, the organisation that became Verily in 2015. In the Steady handle an onboard computer separates unwanted tremor from intended movement and drives two motors to cancel it, reducing shaking in the utensil by 70%; Level reads motion in three dimensions to keep the attachment horizontal as the wrist twists and bends.