One of the top news stories coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NV, last month was the official introduction of Pampers Lumi, the world’s first all-in-one connected baby care system. The product combines a smart HD video monitor with an activity sensor to provide parents with information about their baby in one easy-to-use app. The sensor system, in short, lets parents better monitor their baby’s eating, sleeping and diapering patterns, all in one place, and even provides insight into cognitive and physical development.

The emergence of “Smart” diaper systems has been happening for the past few years, but the majority of these applications have focused on the adult care market where sensor systems can ease caregiver burdens and save institutional costs by changing the way nursing homes and hospitals care for their patients. These systems allow caregivers to be alerted when an adult patient soils a diaper so it can be changed in a timely manner, before it hurts delicate “senior” skin. It also allows caregivers to change on an as-needed basis rather than a schedule to save costs caused by unnecessary diaper changes.

What is different with infant care systems is that parents usually are only caring for one child at a time, meaning they already have a pretty good handle on what the baby is doing…when it is eating, sleeping or needing a new diaper…and a wet diaper, especially with today’s sophisticated products…really won’t irritate newborn skin the way it would a senior citizen.

So, what is driving the need for a baby diaper sensor system?

We are living in the age of data and parenting is no exception. Fifteen years ago, when I became a parent, I didn’t even consider purchasing a video monitor. Today, you probably can’t buy one that doesn’t have some sort of video feed. Parents are keeping a constant eye on what their babies are doing and they are keeping track of it closely.

Many young parents today already rely on smartphone apps to monitor when their babies eat, sleep and wet. This allows them to gauge patterns in baby’s activities. A sensor like this just does it more immediately and accurately than manual input.

Today’s world thrives on data. We have apps to track how many steps we take per day, how many hours of REM sleep we get, how our heart rates fluctuate throughout the day and more. It’s no surprise that the data trend should extend to one of the most important jobs a person ever does, taking care of their baby. Sensors, like the one launched by P&G last month, allowi parents to not only monitor and store this data but use the information as a tool to judge how baby is development.


Karen McIntyre
Editor
[email protected]