Forget about the iPhone5S -- a new, futuristic baby monitor might soon top parents' wish lists.
Sproutling, a startup that aims to “grow your parent IQ," is developing a new baby monitor that will pick up more than just sound.
Co-founder Chris Bruce told The Huffington Post that the monitor will have three parts: a small wearable sensor that will strap to a baby's ankle, a wall sensor, and a mobile sensor. Together, the parts will constantly check things like a baby's heart rate, skin temperature and movement, as well as the room's temperature, humidity, noise and light levels.
The sensors will then convert the information into insight reports available on an app that parents can access on smartphones and other devices. If anything is amiss, the app will alert parents.
"You want to know if your baby is OK," Bruce said. "The monitor will be able to tell you, 'Is this normal?'"
The app will also be able to turn the analytics into predictions -- like when your child will wake up from a nap -- and will even be able to sends text or email alerts when your baby actually does, Bruce said.
Sproutling recently raised funding to build the monitor, which is in its early stages of production. It's not expected to ship until next year, but Bruce said he expects it to be a hit with parents.
"As a parent, most free time is when the baby is sleeping," Bruce said. He called the product an asset for parents when it comes to time management.
The Sproutling monitor is only the latest in the world of wearable tech -- hands-free devices we don't have to pick up to interact with (like Google Glass or the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch). In the case of some health-related wearable tech innovations, like the Jawbone UP, the products use data to give insights into our well-being -- like how much sleep or exercise we're getting. It was only a matter of time before wearable tech made its way to babies.
Some parents are already praising the idea: "I would have loved to be able to use some of the data from a wearable to help determine optimal sleep patterns for my child. I’m not sure if it would have helped my daughter sleep through the night earlier in her development, but to me as a fledgling parent, knowledge is power," TechCrunch's Leena Rao wrote.
Bruce said that as a parent himself, he understands the anxieties that most parents face when leaving their child alone. His answer? Technology.
“We truly believe we can help grow happy families,” Bruce told the Huffington Post. “Technology is an asset.”
Visit sproutling.com for more information.
Related
Before You Go
