There’s an episode of The Simpsons where Homer’s brother invents a baby translator and reclaims his fortune. A company has come up with that product for real and it’s called QBear.
QBear uses artificial intelligence when it hears a baby crying to analyse the sound and determine why the child is upset.
Any new parents will tell you not being able to settle their child is one of the most stressful things they’ll experience.
QBear, which was on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, can now tell you whether the baby is hungry, needs a nappy change or is just overtired.
The QBear has a companion app where parents receive notifications if the device hears their baby crying.
It will listen for 10 seconds before offering up its interpretation of the cry and it will get better and more accurate the longer it is used.
Under the hood is an 18-layer deep learning architecture which looks at more than 10,000 rows of crying data gathered over the years to narrow it down to four basic needs: fussy, tired, hungry and have a wet/dirty nappy,
The unit also has a built-in speaker so they can soothe the child without going into the room to help get the baby back to sleep.
There’s also a night light to help settle the baby as well. The light stimulates the baby’s melatonin to assist them in getting back to sleep.
QBear cannot only translate the baby’s cries but also give you information about the room conditions including temperature and humidity.
The QBear has an attachment so it can hang on the edge of the crib or set up on a nearby table.
* Stephen Fenech travelled to Las Vegas with support from Samsung, LG, Hisense and ASUS.
