Baby Soother
UI Designer / UX Researcher (Product Concept)
March 14, 2016
What is Baby Soother?
Baby Soother is a concept of a smart home device that could not only notify parents when their kids are crying, but also sooth the kids at the same time.
The Power of LittleBits
I’ve worked with devices like Arduino, so LittleBits seemed natural and more like a little brother to it. In a couple minutes, I was able to figure out all the functions that LittleBits had to provide. With this in mind, I tackled the issue about taking care of a baby. How can the combination of all the tools I had create a smart home device?
The basic idea of being able to not only notify the parents, but also sooth the baby when it started crying was implemented. A simple buzzer and motor (for a turning mobile) was created. With that, a LED light and decibel meter (on the parent’s side) as well as MP3 player and speaker (for soothing music), the baby soother was complete. I feel like the prototype could’ve been cleaner looking, but as a prototype it didn’t have to be perfect.
Reflection
The idea sounded simple and easy to implement, but also had a lot of problems. How exactly would this be wired together in a real-world situation? Also, we also encountered an issue with the mobile – it only spun when the baby was crying loud enough. Once the baby stopped crying, he/she is left with only Adele’s voice, which could be good or bad (but would be better with the mobile moving).
In the future, I would work with the CloudBits model more and look ahead towards a possible final product, and how they it would function.
From Prototype to Product
In theory, how would this prototype look as a real smart home product? In other words, how did I visualize this device? I saw this device as a wall product. With one part attached in the parent’s room and the other in the baby’s, the buzzer wouldn’t overlap with the beautiful music playing. Not only that, this device would be connected in the cloud, which could allow parents handle this smart baby soother even outside home.
Promo Video
Please leave your questions or feedback below! What do you think about Baby Soother?