Who in their right mind would want to interact with babies? They’re dumb, they leak, they smell (on account of the leakage), and for all that noise, babies can’t even give you a hint as to what set them off. But the new Exmobaby sensor suit just might.
The Exmobaby is a onesie outfitted with non-contact ECG sensors that monitors the infant’s heart rate, skin temperature, and movement, and then transmits the data via an attached ZigBee device to a nearby Windows PC for logging. The system will also send text and email alerts, automatically and in real-time, as the baby’s stats change.
It’s designed to fit kids up to a year old and the device will ultimately be marketed towards first-time parents. Currently, the Exmobaby is undergoing beta testing at select hospitals and medical centres ahead of FDA approval but should reach market once that happens.
Presumably, after enough data has been logged, the associated software will be able to predict the emotional state of your progeny,
Exmovere Holdings, the designer of Exmobaby, is committed to emotion detection algorithms that involve two kinds of vital sign data: arousal (energy/alertness) and valence (mood). Detection of emotion from Exmobaby involves software that compares heart rate, delta temperature and movement data (arousal) to heart rate variability and skin temperature (valence). Normally, these data, if tracked over time, enable a system to “guess” from a series of words that could be used to describe an emotional state: anger, fatigue, depression, joy, etc. For this to work, normally the subject would confirm or deny the system’s assessment. Over time, this enables the software algorithms to gain greater accuracy. In the case of babies, Exmovere is asking its users to try something new: name states. Exmobaby software will monitor trends in vital states. Parents will be asked to name states, such as “giggly” or “grumpy,” and the system can and will alert them when the underlying readings that match those states are detected. The idea is to demonstrate the link between changes in vital sign data and mental states. It is also to create a deeper level of communication between babies and their parents at the beginning of such a critical relationship.
There’s no word on pricing for the device once it does come to market, but I’m guessing there will be a lot of nervous and wired first-time parents clamoring for real-time stats of their newest family member when it does. We can only hope that the consumer model will include social media integration as well. [Exmobaby via Geek]
The Exmobaby suit:
Top Image (not the Exmobaby suit): Golden Pixels LLC / Shutterstock