One Day This Tech Romper May Save Your Baby #WearableWednesday #WearableTech #SIDS
Chrissy Glover has been using her wearable tech skills to address interesting issues, from spacesuit injuries to uncomfortable hospital gowns. A recent project focused on SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) which has been an issue for years, according to Chrissy’s site.
In 1994, the American Academy of Pediatrics launched the “Back to Sleep Campaign,” urging parents to place their babies on their back instead of their belly or side to go to sleep, as either of the latter options can restrict breathing. In the 10 years following the launch of the campaign, reports of SIDS decreased by about 50%.
Although the decrease has been formidable, no one wants their child to be part of the losing percentage. So, the designer developed the Back to Sleeper, a romper with conductive pads that act as sensors. So, when the baby is on its back, things are quiet, but when the baby rolls on its side or stomach, a buzzer sounds. The electronics are relatively simple with an Adafruit Arduino Gemma microcontroller, piezo buzzer and LiPo battery.
What is more complicated is the time Chrissy spent developing the conductive pads. She attempted to apply Bare Conductive Paint on the fabric, but the stretch capability caused the paint to separate. So, she created pads with Bemis Overlay tape and then coated them with the conductive paint, creating the perfect solution (esp. since babies get wet easily). A ring of batting acts as a separator between the pads, so when pushed in, the microcontroller signals the buzzer off meaning the baby is safe. Not only is it a smart design, but the black accents add sweet embellishment.
Although this is a prototype, I believe there is good promise for this sleeper to grow into a product. Keep your eyes on Chrissy Glover as she continues to develop great solutions. Also, if you have a need for a powerful yet small microcontroller, be sure to check out our Gemma Arduino in the shop. Those fat solder pads and affordable price make it the perfect choice. Have fun creating with purpose!
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!