We first wrote about wearable baby monitoring sensors as early as 2014 when we covered Sproutling’s strap-on device that tracks heartbeat, breathing rate, and skin temperature. In 2015 we covered the Owlet, a sensor in a washable sock that measures heartbeat and blood oxygen level to determine if a baby’s breathing effectively. Both devices were designed to provide parents with vital health information without the risk of unnecessarily waking the baby by entering the room repeatedly to check on breathing.
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan introduced a variety of new products at CES 2021, including iDarlingWeaR. iDarlingWeaR consists of a small battery-operated device that slips inside a pad or baby blanket that is placed on the baby’s chest while sleeping. The device uses harmless low-power radar to track and record an infant’s heart beat, breathing, and movements. The device has a Bluetooth wireless connection to a smartphone app to store data and to send an immediate warning to parents or caregivers if detects irregular heart beat or breathing. One decided advantage with iDarlingWeaR over many other sensors used with infants is there is no contact with the baby’s skin. According to ITRI, iDarlingWeaR is easy to use and the average heart rate sensing deviation is less than 5%.
iDarlingWeaR was a CES 2021 innovation Award honoree in the Wearable Technologies category. No information is currently available about mass production and distribution, but ITRI suggests that the product is appropriate for use in postnatal and childcare centers as well as in homes. Parents of newborns who relentlessly check their sleeping babies due due to concerns about SIDS or accidental suffocation could get a break and maybe even catch up on a bit of sleep with a device such as iDarlingWeaR.
