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Connected Objects Imaging

Pello interactive kids’ camera comes in yellow, four other colors

Parents like to know what their kids are up to when using interactive devices, whether it’s a computer, smartphone, tablet or even a camera. But cameras don’t typically offer a way for parents to keep tabs on their kids’ activity.

Pello is a child-focused camera with filters and Bluetooth connectivity to a parental smartphone app that allows parents to see the photos their kids are taking. The interactive camera is designed specifically for children, and also allows them to easily share their photos with friends.

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Kids/Babies Smartwatches/Bands

Octopus smartwatch teaches kids time and good habits

Kids’ smartwatches tend to merely be stripped-down versions of standard smartwatches, with fewer features but more colorful designs.

Octopus is a twist on kids’ smartwatches, featuring a simple, icon-based user interface designed to teach children good habits and the concept of time, while fostering independence, responsibility and self-esteem. The watch works in conjunction with Android and iOS mobile devices that allow parents to manage Octopus from their own smartphones and tablets. Octopus ships in March at $79, but Kickstarter backers can order one for a pledge starting at $49 for early birds. Its makers hope to raise $50,000 by July 22.

The design of Octopus sets it apart from many other kids smartwatches, such as Miiya. That it’s water resistant is a plus, but being waterproof would be preferable for any kids’ smartwatch considering how likely it is that the device will get wet at some point. More importantly, Octopus doesn’t –- at least for now –- have the ability to alert parents as soon as their child is about to be out of range. That’s a feature that its makers are working on and want to make available by the time it ships … or at least as a free software update later on.

 

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies Sleep

Suzy Snooze helps Suzy –- and everybody else –- get some sleep

Every parent wants their babies to get some sleep because if an infant doesn’t sleep, the adults don’t either.

patent-claimedSuzy Snooze is a three-in-one device that uses light and sound to soothe kids to sleep — helping their parents get some sleep in the process — and also helps wake kids up. Suzy evolves with children through their early years — serving as first a baby monitor, then a lullaby nightlight, and then a toddler sleep trainer. It plugs into a wall socket and comes with U.S., U.K. and European adapters.

Suzy works out of the box, but also in conjunction with a mobile device app that allows parents to control the device’s functions remotely, including whether to leave the nightlight on or off.

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Fitness Kids/Babies Smartwatches/Bands

Kids hooked on Owl fitness system get wise to healthier habits

Childhood obesity is a problem that continues to grow in the United States: over the past 30 years alone, the rate of obese children and adolescents has more than doubled, which means that almost one-third of them are obese. One of the best ways to combat obesity is a healthy lifestyle that includes physical exercise, something most don’t get as more spend longer playing mobile games. OWL LLC wants to gamify the development of positive exercise habits and make them easier to engage with its Owl Fitness Tracker.

The Owl iOS app essentially replicates the nostalgia-laden experiencing of caring for a Tamogatchi or a Pokémon Pikachu with the Owl fitness tracker acting as a pedometer. The more a user walks, the more points can be earned to grow the Owl,  buy food to keep it happy, and accessorize it for fun.

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Networking

Screen lets parents curb their kids’ screen addiction

Many parents would love to monitor the amount of time their kids spend using various devices –- especially when homework needs to be done.

patent-claimedScreen is a small set-top box that lets parents limit the screen time their kids are spending across devices including computers, smartphones, tablets, streaming set-top boxes, TVs and video game consoles. The device controls up to three TV-connected devices. But it works in conjunction with an Android and iOS app for parents that lets them monitor the use of any devices wherever they or their kids are.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies

Miraffe connected playmate puts a digital portal in the hands of kids

For little ones, the world is full of mystery, prompting their torrent of questions from the moment they can start forming them. For parents, this is a wonderful moment. Knowing that they’re responsible for educating their children is a huge responsibility made easier with the internet. For the most part, it’s better if a child discovers everything on their own. The Miraffe is a clever compromise between the two.

Since a child can’t just log on to Google or Wikipedia and seek out the information they need, the Miraffe acts as an intermediary. It can recognize objects in the world and give children information on it along with simply being a toy with which to entertain with. It’s essentially a Wi-Fi enabled, 4″ HD screen with a quad-core 1.3GHz processors, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 5 MP camera.

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Kids/Babies Maker/Development Robots/Drones

Codeybot drives a programmable wedge right into your adoring heart

The past ten years or so have seen a huge push towards STEM subjects in the United States to shore up the youth for a future society dominated by computer programming and robotics. But no matter how important the programming skills are, children w care about the future implications of learning them unless it’s fun to learn first.

Enter the Codeybot, another crowdfunded little robot designed to engage children in the fundamentals of coding from the creators of the Makeblock. What’s immediately noticeable is how its LED panel and extremely appealing, wedge-shaped single-wheel design serve to grasp the usually fleeting attention spans of children. To maintain it, children program Codeybot with an iPad app using the mBlocky language. (Sorry Android users.)

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Television

Drive offers the warm glow of achievement by removing the warm glow of TV

Whether it’s being used for playing videogames or the binge watching of TV shows, the television continues to help adults and kids procrastinate.

patent-claimedDrive is an outlet adapter that connects to a home Wi-Fi network and receives instructions from its owner on when to enable or disable the use of a TV. It works in conjunction with an Android, iOS and Windows app. If parents don’t want their kids to watch TV or play games until they are done with their homework or household chores, Drive can be used to bar those children from using the TV for a set period of time. If adults make a New Year’s resolution to exercise and lose weight, but can’t manage to bring themselves to turn off the TV, Drive can be set to automatically block the TV from being used until they burn some calories.

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Health and Wellness Kids/Babies Wearables

AllerGuarder wristband lets you guard against kids’ allergies

editors-choiceKids’ food allergies are a significant cause of concern for many parents –- especially when their children are away from home, be it at school, at a party, or elsewhere. AllerGuarder offers parents a solution to that dilemma.

patent-claimedAllerGuarder is a smart wristband that broadcasts kids’ allergies via a low-frequency Bluetooth transmitter that is built into the wearable device. The wristband constantly broadcasts a 50-foot radius alert and anybody within that zone who has downloaded the free Android or iOS app is automatically cautioned about a child’s allergies on their smartphones or tablets.

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Kids/Babies Nutrition/Hydration

Proacmom smart baby bottle delivers push-button heating

The problem with baby bottles is that it can be really hard to get the milk inside them to reach the perfect temperature for babies and to then stay at that perfect temperature for very long. That’s especially the case while traveling.

Proacmom is a smart, rechargeable baby bottle designed to solve that problem. It heats milk in the bottle with just the push of a button, then warms and promises to hold the milk temperature for hours. Proacmom features an LCD thermometer strip that gauges the milk’s temperature, enabling feeding to be done at an optimum temperature. Its double wall insulating layer reduces thermal loss and retains heat, so frequent reheating isn’t needed. Included are a detachable lithium-ion battery and control unit, and Proacmom can be charged using a Micro USB mobile charger, car charger or PC.