Technology for Making Babies and Newborn Babies

daisypope
Mar 11, 2019
5 min read

During the week of International Women's Day we kick things off with a fertility tracking device and a smart baby monitor to help make women's lives easier. We have also seen the unexpected release of another foldable smartphone rivalling the two of last week

Kegg Kegel Ball

It began with pelvic floor exercise devices, then moved on to fertility apps to track your monthly cycle, now we have the release of the first wearable device to predict when a woman is most fertile. Californian tech company Ladies Technologies have released the Kegg Kegel which measures the thickness of a woman's cervical mucas to determine at what stage she is in her cycle to predict how fertile she is. The device only needs to be worn for two minutes a day and is held in place by the pelvic floor muscles so can also exercise the pelvic floor muscles. The device is made from medical grade silicone and has two gold plated stainless steel bands which emit electronic pulses that use spectroscopy technology to determine the thickness of cervical mucas. A cloud collects the information and a personalised algorithm is used to predict the woman's next fertile window. This new device is a fantastic example of a product that solves a problem. Many couple struggle with fertility and in a world where more and more people are using wearable electronics to gather data on themselves, what better way to learn about your fertility. This product could help empower women by giving them more knowledge of what is going on inside their bodies at what time of the month and may help them to predict mental and physical feelings throughout the month. It could also help women be more aware of when there are changes to their usual cycle so any underlying health problems could be caught earlier. For more information see https://www.dezeen.com/2019/03/06/kegg-kegel-ball-fertility-tracking-tech/

Bluebell Baby Monitor

Another product has made it's debut at the baby show this week using wearable technology. The smart Bluebell Baby Monitor is made of three devices - The Baby Monitor, the Parent Wristband and the Smart Hub. The baby monitor measures a baby's breathing, temperature, movements and noises. The monitor sends alerts to the Parents wristband and the Smart Hub when baby is too hot or cold, has breathing changes, rolls onto their tummy or starts crying. The Parent Wristband is worn like a watch so is practical for all occasions and receives alerts from the Baby Monitor through lights and vibrations. You can also use the Parent Wristband to track a baby's routine like nappy changes etc..., to track a parents sleep, count the parents steps and even tell the time! Finally the Smart Hub has audio monitoring, temperature monitoring, plays lullabies and white noise, and acts as a soft night light. The Bluebell App brings all the information together and let's you know what it has tracked and trends within the data. Plan your babies routine using the app and track baby's progress and growth, as well as tracking your own wellbeing. Bluebell does everything you'd expect a new parent to need and more... But can this make it too complicated? Would a tired parent have the time and patience to effectively use the app and analyse the data collected? I'm not so sure, I guess they might put the extra effort in for the health and wellbeing of their child. We will have to see the real verdict when the reviews start coming in after Bluebell's release in May. For more in depth information please see https://bluebell.io/.

Hanging Cooking Hob

With 55% of the population now living in Urban areas and cities (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/two-thirds-of-global-population-will-live-in-cities-by-2050-un-says.html) housing and space for housing becomes a growing issue. Flats and apartments in cities get smaller and smaller, as do the rooms within them. Therefore airy kitchens bit enough to experiment with new recipes become pokey rooms with about enough space to use the microwave. However the designers at Adriano Design have come up with a solution - The Ordine. The product utilised induction technology to create a practical yet aesthetically pleasing design. The two hob rings can be hung up when not in use and then placed on to the work top when needed for cooking. They take up minimal space and create a feature to any kitchen. Obviously the design restricts you to only using two hob rings at once, however maybe Adriano could design one with three or four? I could certainly see this product being implemented into city apartments, but why not take it further? How about in a small VW camper van or even to use for camping? This induction hob design could be a great portable alternative to the bulky gas rings campers currently use. For more information see https://design-milk.com/adriano-design-kitchen-concept-fabita/

Another foldable Smartphone

After two announcements of foldable phones last week from the tech giants, this week we see an interesting release from tech company Energizer... The Power Max P8100S. It is 5G compatible and has a very impressive battery life, which is to be expected from a battery company. But the screen is 1.4 inches bigger than Samsungs so is an even better example of a phone and tablet in one device. As well as impressive storage (256GB) and 8GB RAM the smartphone also has a lifetime guarantee! So worries about the expense of having to replace the foldable screen can be put to bed. But how much will the phone be in the first place?.... Well you'll be impressed as it is rumoured to be £899. Much less than the rivals. However Energizer isn't well known as a phone company so may struggle against the tech giants. Only the next few months will tell how the foldable smartphone market will pan out. For more information see https://www.dezeen.com/2019/03/07/folding-phones-energizer-power-max-p8100s/.

Acoustic Knitted Curtains

Something that caught my eye this week is are the 3D knitted felt curtains from Petra Vonk. The curtains are flexible and customisable, coming in various lengths and shapes. They would create a great focal a point in a room; or more practically can be used as office dividers to provide privacy and a noise absorber. The felt can be knitted in various ways to create straight or wavy lines. There can even be LED lights incorporated into the curtains.

Noise reduction in office interiors has been a key focus in Scandinavian design over the last few years, with a plethora of innovative sound-absorbing wall panels, upholstered desk screens and a wide array of acoustic baffles (https://www.dezeen.com/2019/03/10/plectere-petra-vonk-acoustic-curtains/)

Perhaps the recent trend of open plan office spaces are starting to waiver and people are looking for more privacy. Vonk's design is a great temporary solution to create attractive partitions within office spaces. Perhaps you could start the day with the partitions in place and end it without them for a more collaborative office space, creating a fully flexible office environment. For more information see https://www.dezeen.com/2019/03/10/plectere-petra-vonk-acoustic-curtains/.