Google’s future baby monitor could spy on your kid to alert you before they cry

By Hillary K. Grigonis Published September 6, 2019

Future video monitors could warn parents before the baby starts crying — a recently published patent details Google’s plans for an artificial intelligence system that tracks an infant’s eyes and movements as well as sounds to alert parents to unusual behavior. The patent, published on September 5 but filed last year, could create a smarter baby monitor that alerts parents when the baby is starting to stir or the toddler is attempting to scale the crib railing — if parents are willing to let Google spy on their child.

The patent details a system that mixes a video monitor with A.I.-based software. By monitoring the baby’s eyes and movement, the camera could look for signs of discomfort that a traditional audio monitor wouldn’t detect. A baby that’s moving more than usual, the patent suggests, may be too hot or too cold.

Recommended Videos

The eye-monitoring A.I. could track if the baby is awake or sleeping by determining if the eyes are open or closed. The software could also detect the baby’s position — letting parents know if their toddler is sleeping or trying to climb out of the crib instead. All those features could tie in with an app that sends parents notifications on a smartphone or tablet.

The patent — if it ever comes to fruition — would likely be an expansion of the Google Nest security camera. The baby-monitoring A.I. isn’t the only baby tracking tech coming from Alphabet — Verily, a healthcare research division of the company, is working with Pampers on a diaper sensor that tracks diapers and sleep and sends the data to an app. The Lumi smart diaper is also designed to work with a Logitech camera system with audio as well as tracking the temperature of the room.

While adding nursery-friendly features to Google Nest isn’t far fetched, some parents may be wary of the technology. Wi-Fi enabled video monitors are known for being hacked, and the privacy-conscious may not like the idea of putting A.I. — and Google — in the nursery.

By monitoring more than sound, however, the technology could alert parents when the baby is starting to stir instead of at the first scream — which may give sleep-deprived parents a warning if they only have a few minutes to finish their coffee.

Topics

Hillary K. Grigonis

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…

Cars

BYD’s cheap EVs might remain out of Canada too

BYD Han

With Chinese-made electric vehicles facing stiff tariffs in both Europe and America, a stirring question for EV drivers has started to arise: Can the race to make EVs more affordable continue if the world leader is kept out of the race?

China’s BYD, recognized as a global leader in terms of affordability, had to backtrack on plans to reach the U.S. market after the Biden administration in May imposed 100% tariffs on EVs made in China.

Cars

Tesla posts exaggerate self-driving capacity, safety regulators say

Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In these instances, it appears that “the driver may not be aware that he or she is responsible” to make appropriate operational selections, or “fully understand” the nuances of the system, NHTSA said.
Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
The postings, which included reposted YouTube videos, may encourage viewers to see FSD-supervised as a “Robotaxi” instead of a partially automated, driver-assist system that requires “persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver,” Magno said.
In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.

Cars

Waymo, Nexar present AI-based study to protect ‘vulnerable’ road users

waymo data vulnerable road users ml still 1 ea18c3

Robotaxi operator Waymo says its partnership with Nexar, a machine-learning tech firm dedicated to improving road safety, has yielded the largest dataset of its kind in the U.S., which will help inform the driving of its own automated vehicles.

As part of its latest research with Nexar, Waymo has reconstructed hundreds of crashes involving what it calls ‘vulnerable road users’ (VRUs), such as pedestrians walking through crosswalks, biyclists in city streets, or high-speed motorcycle riders on highways.