When you are in the IT world, technology is always evolving. The same technology we swore by five years ago is now hopelessly out of date. The engineers from my company roll their eyes when technology becomes quickly outdated and has been replaced by yet another version. When clients hear us say, “Yes, this Wi-Fi will last three years for sure,” we forget how people groused when we used to say “five years.”
The one example that everyone understands: How many of us carry a smartphone that is over one year old? How about two? Can any of us say three years? Not really, because the same smartphone that had the best cameras ever is somehow now the favorite play toy for a six-year-old child, while we were forced, by need or circumstance, to upgrade. So technically this kind of works the same way with cloud computing needs. The increasing need for reliability has increased the hardware requirements to support this type of connection. All of our systems need to evolve on a semi-constant basis.
On to Baby Tech Talk
The good news is that my director of operations is actually now my nephew. (He married my niece, and now I am their baby’s great uncle!) Now, Chaim is a super techie but only cares about the hardware that betters his life and now the life of his wife and newborn baby. Babies beat any tech out there; seeing pics certainly isn’t like holding the baby in your arms.
Now, when my kids were babies, the state-of-the-art thing was the travel baby seat that doubled as a carriage. Clicking that thing into my car, which only my wife could figure out, was definitely an art! At that point, the only technology babywise was a baby monitor. Ours ran over radio waves and had more fuzz than sound. In addition, we were picking up a Russian-speaking car service (this was pre-Uber; there was no app to reserve a car.)
The Car
Now, with newborns and throughout the first couple of years, the baby seat generally faces the rearview window. I remember having some sort of mirror but it really wasn’t effective.
Introducing Chaim’s proprietary baby car seat cam. The viewing camera is not the smartphone but a separate device that gets its power from the front pane utility port l. (I used to call this the cigarette lighter, not the port). The camera is easily mounted to the front of the windows and is not distracting for the driver. The baby camera itself is strapped to the back seat headrest and pointed right at the baby. It’s really amazing and I feel a must-have for any new parent.
I will admit the setup is not that easiest but not impossible for someone like me who detests wires and screwdrivers.
For the home, I have to admit I am super impressed with the upcycle of older smartphones and the vision of our new tech dad.
The Crib
A platform that suspends an infrared motion night vision camera is pointed perfectly at the baby, in such a way that if the baby simply jostles, as babies do, no alert is sent. This was a lesson learned. The camera gives a perfect picture and sound.
The upcycle is the camera that comes with a viewing app that can be loaded on any smartphone, even ones that don’t have a 4G plan. All over the apartment are these older smartphones running a live view of the baby, all powered up and directly powered to the wall.
In the effort at brevity I did leave out the major details, but I had the new father explain the setup. I tried to get him to explain how this could be duplicated by others. I specified that any hardware he suggested must be available on Amazon; that there would be no complicated setup where an IT professional would need to be hired; and that he would be able to provide practical usage and feedback for others. (I wouldn’t trust any review on something so critical!) Last but not least, I asked that he suggest items that are affordable.
I have seen the car setup and pictures (due to COVID I haven’t been in the baby’s apartment). I feel parents would pay for such a setup from a dad who may want to charge for this service. My nephew offered to take simple questions via email, but past that, who knows? Maybe this is a new startup idea!
My suggestion (if you are at all handy) is to purchase the hardware to setup yourself and see how complicated it is. Note the hardware below the cameras is hardwired for both the viewing cam and the baby-facing cam. There are more expensive models that are mostly wireless.
Most of the technology we roll out is not intentionally set up as a public service, though our tech has carried us through quite a lot during these trying times. There is some satisfaction when there is a “Zoom day” that the Wi-Fi we have installed in many schools and homes works, educates and most of all, keeps people safe.
The baby tech talk setup was all thought up by my nephew. There is something to say when someone strives to use technology to keep a child safe. Awesome!
Here are hardware suggestions from Amazon:
Baby Monitor for House
Phone stand (like Kaforise Long Arm Floor Stand for Smartphone and Tablet, 360 Degree Adjustable Floor Stand Holder for 4.7”-10” Phone, Black Maximum Height 55”)
In-house baby monitor (like Lumi by Pampers Smart Baby Monitor: HD Video Baby Monitor (with camera and audio), Wi-Fi, Night Vision, Temperature & Humidity Tracking—Compatible with the Lumi Smart Sleep System, Sold Separately)
Camera holder for in house (Brand: iTODOS)
Baby Monitor Mount Camera Shelf Compatible with Infant Optics DXR 8 and Most Other Baby Monitors, Universal Baby Camera Holder, Attaches to Crib Cot Shelves or Furniture
Car Camera System
Itomoro Baby Car Mirror, View Infant in Rear Facing Seat with Wide Crystal Clear View, Camera Aimed at Baby-Easily to Observe The Baby’s Every Move
Feel free to email [email protected]. I will forward your questions to the new dad, and the mom, for that matter.
Shneur Garb is the CEO and founder of The Garb I.T. Consulting Group LLC, which specializes in education and medical cloud-based solutions. Questions can be sent to [email protected]
