What is Monbaby?
Monbaby is a smart breathing and movement monitor for babies. It consists of a smart button attached to the baby’s clothing couple with a mobile application to monitor the baby.
Why is Monbaby invented?
Many infants deaths are sudden and unexpected due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. Experts agree that the most important thing that a parent can do to reduce the risk is to place the baby on their back to sleep.
With traditional monitors, parents may not be alerted in time if their newborn has a stoppage in breathing or has turned over on their stomach to sleep.
How does it work?
Monbaby does it by measuring and classifying motion, movements, position, orientation and activity levels and sending it to parents smartphone. It detects breathing and falls and streams data to a smartphone app, where information is displayed in a convenient, easy-to-understand manner.
To detect slightest movements, Monbaby contains MEMS 14bit accelerometer, (MMA8451Q by Freescale) that measures movements, breathing, orientation and activity level. Measurements are done in real-time, 5 times per second and transmitted over Bluetooth (4.0) Low Energy to an iPhone app or any Smart Bluetooth capable device.
The sensor is powered by 3V coin-cell battery giving 3 weeks of constant use and 1 year in passive mode. The antenna operating range is 40 in the light of sight.
Parents should attach the button to the baby’s clothing and then activate the app to start the monitoring.
Button:
Mobile App:
PROS:
- It is relatively accurate in detecting and monitoring the baby’s breathing and movements
- It is very portable and no other accessories required.
- It uses Bluetooth technology so it can still work without WIFI.
- The baby does not outgrow the Monbaby device.
CONS:
- It will be difficult to use it with a sleeper or rocker that would register movement even if the child has stopped breathing.
- However, Bluetooth reliance also means limited range. In some environments, especially homes with certain wall materials, electromagnetic noise and other obstructions, the range of the device may at times be more limited than in the vast majority of homes.
Modifications:
- It can add on an air quality detection feature to see if the surrounding air quality is safe for the baby. This can be a potentially safe feature to detect the slightest change in the air quality, for e.g. gas leakage
References:
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/mondevices-monbaby-smart-button-review/
https://monbaby.com/#what-is