5 CRAZY BABY GADGETS FOR TECH-OBSESSED PARENTS

5 Crazy Baby Gadgets for Tech-Obsessed Parents
By Erik Schechter, Popular Mechanics, 5 September 2013.

Call it the trickle-down effect of technology. As adults fill their lives with smart-these and smart-those, high-tech gizmos geared for babies begin to seem normal. And companies are more than happy to facilitate this trend. Some of the resulting products are ingenious; others are a little over the top; and some completely fail to live up to their claims, leaving the consumer feeling like a dope.

1. Baby Talk

In one long-ago episode of The Simpsons, Homer's half-brother Herb invents a machine that translates baby babbling into English. It's a cute cartoon premise that someone at Biloop Technologic took way too seriously. The company produces a Cry Translator app that can supposedly tell when a baby is hungry, bored, sleepy, stressed, or uncomfortable simply by analyzing her cries. All one has to do is hold the iPhone 50 to 60 centimetres away from the baby and wait 3 seconds.

Despite the app getting wide press coverage, customer reviews have been decidedly negative, with some complaining that the "translations" are arbitrary and inaccurate.

2. Smart Diapers

You have until Sept. 7 to help Pixie Scientific meet its US$25,000 goal on Indiegogo to develop and test Smart Diapers. Yes, Smart Diapers. Designed for neurotic parents, these disposable undergarments have a chemically treated tab on the front that changes colour based on the bacterial, electrolyte, and pH levels of your kid's urine. Mom or dad scans the tab with a smartphone and a Pixie Scientific app analyzes the data and then issues an alert if there is need for a doctor. According to the company, Smart Diapers (which will cost 30 percent more than normal diapers) can help identify health issues such as a urinary track infection or type 1 diabetes. But the diapers must still undergo a pilot study and be registered with the FDA. As an Indiegogo backer, you could receive a year's supply of Smart Diapers for US$800.

3. iPotty

It's 2013 and your toddler is a very busy person. That's why he or she needs CTA Digital's iPotty. The iPotty allows your kid to work on the iPad while undergoing the drudgery of toilet training.

Besides having standard features, such as a removable inner bowl and splash guard, the iPotty comes with an adjustable iPad holder. Now junior can play apps, watch videos, and create Excel spreadsheets while doing his business. Best of all, the iPotty comes with a screen protector that, according to CTA Digital, "helps keep the iPad clean and protected from smudges and little messy accidents." Eww.

Let's be honest, though - some workaholic parents are going to use this thing themselves for worry-free bathroom email checking.

4. Carkoon

Created by Julian Preston-Powers, Carkoon is the car seat that baby Kal-El's real parents would have driven him around in back on Krypton. In the event of an accident, Carkoon instantly deploys an air-filled canopy that protects the child from flying debris. According to Preston-Powers, this air shield is strong enough to deflect a brick and, for added measure, is covered in fire-retardant Nomex material.

There's more: The rest of the seat is covered in bulletproof Kevlar. There is an Emergency Beacon Transmitter that gives first responders the baby's GPS coordinates and a Quick Release System for easy extraction from the wreckage. Currently a working prototype, Carkoon needs more investors to get to market.

5. Tricked-Out Baby Monitors

You've come a long way, baby monitors. The Samsung SEW-3037W Safeview system includes a rotating camera with night vision and a portable 3-1/2-inch screen with a folding antenna. Track all of baby's movements from a signal distance of 800 feet.

Of course, the Safeview is not the only high-tech baby monitor out there. The Withings Smart Baby Monitor, for example, dispenses with the usual dedicated monitor system and allows one to synch a smartphone to a fixed crib camera so parents can watch their baby while at work.

[Source: Popular Mechanics. Edited.]

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