Baby wearables and connected monitors usually track a single metric. Levana’s Oma Sense system uses an accelerometer to monitor breathing movements while newborns and infants sleep. TempTraq‘s name describes its primary feature: tracking body temperature. Bellabeat’s Shell captures and transmits the sound of a baby’s heartbeat. Most other wearables for babies do just one job, which isn’t a bad thing.
If typical baby-monitoring tech devices are one-trick ponies, however, Pamper’s new Lumi all-in-one Connected Care System is a full rodeo. The Lumi system has four components: an activity sensor, Lumi by Pampers diapers, an HD video camera, and apps for iPhone and Android to capture routine data and record insights. There’s not a great deal of information yet about the smart diapers or the activity sensor, except that the diapers monitor moisture and the activity sensor has an accelerometer to track movement. The wide-angle 1080p full HD video monitor has infrared sensing night vision and two-way audio. The monitor also tracks room temperature and humidity.
Pampers created Lumi with help from project partners Logitech and Verily, Alphabet Inc.’s research organization that is devoted to the study of life sciences. Lumi monitors a baby’s sleep and wetness and facilitates tracking feeding, diapering, and key milestones within the app. Carrying on Proctor and Gamble’s mission of re-inventing baby care — which began with the first disposable diapers — Lumi stakes its claim as the world’s first all-in-one connected care system for babies.
Lumi by Pampers will be available only in the U.S. at first, beginning this fall. Interested parents can sign up to be on the Lumi by Pampers waiting list on the website.
Does the world need infant connected care? Many parents get overly anxious after birth, especially with their first child. Whether wearable sensors and trackers that claim to be all-encompassing baby monitors will catch on or even be helpful remains to be seen. Disposable diapers caused a welcome revolution, so possibly P&G is onto something.
