Parenting isn't easy, especially the first time around. You'll make mistakes, your kid will cry, pee everywhere, and suck the social life out of you. But help is on the way in the form of the Sproutling wearable baby monitor.
Packaged as three connected technologies—a wearable sensor, a smart charger, and a mobile app which is compatible with most iOS devices—the Sproutling brings peace of mind to parents who are too busy to keep a constant watch on their child.
"It's the first monitor capable of learning and predicting a baby's sleep habits and optimal sleep conditions," a blog entry said. "Since no two babies are really the same, our data analysis algorithms create a behavior model specific to each child."
Which, in layman's terms, basically means the smart monitor can learn and eventually predict your baby's habits, helping to ease parents' day-to-day schedule.
Equipped with a smart sensor which tracks heart rate, skin temperature, motion, and position, the miniature wearable also syncs with the mobile app to let you know that the baby is sleeping soundly, or notify you if something goes wrong.
Most parents, of course, don't want to strap foreign objects onto their kids, leave them, and just hope for the best. But that's why the Sproutling team built its smart sensor inside fully sealed, medical-grade silicone, which was designed not to be a choking hazard.
Plus, the soft, breathable band is washable, and available in three sizes, so the monitor simply grows with your baby.
And when the device runs out of juice, just toss it into a wireless charging bowl—much easier than recharging your own batteries. The gadget also monitors room temperature and humidity as well as sound and light levels.
Interested parents can sign up now to pre-order one of a limited number of fully tested preview devices for a discounted $249 ($280.79 with tax and shipping), expected to ship early next year. The preview units will help the company "understand the market demand as we fine-tune our manufacturing plan," it said. The monitors will eventually retail for $299.
The Sproutling isn't the first baby monitor to hit the market. But it is certainly unique: the Withings Smart Baby Monitor can't move with your baby, tell you whether their temperature is rising, or warn you before entering a fussy kid's bedroom after naptime.
Keep in mind, though, that like any piece of technology, baby monitors are susceptible to hackers, as security researcher Silvio Cesare made clear during this week's Black Hat conference in Las Vegas.