ToddlerTale

Parent Alert Component on their phones
Assembled product
Electronics and the product
Alternative container for the electronics
Alternative container for the electronics

Inspiration

After helping host a robotics camp for elementary schoolers in my area, I quickly came to the realization that little kids really like to wander off. When I asked my parents how other parents keep track of their toddlers, they answered that it's difficult. A parent is always concerned about their child, especially when they think that their young kid is asleep, only to wake up and wander out of their room. Parents have peace of mind knowing where their toddler is. Parents of infants have baby monitors to keep track of their little ones, but to use a baby monitor on a toddler is quite invasive and might create discrepancies in trust between the parent and the child. This is because the parents have to watch their kid's every movement. So, a system which monitors a child using their movement may be a better way to track their toddler. This was how ToddlerTale was created.

What it does

ToddlerTale is an ultrasonic sensor that senses if your child is passing through a door, and updates a location message based on whether they are in their room or not. It's not a difficult hardware creation, but the implementation using mathematics and onboarding the data collected to a virtual platform was quite a challenge.

How I built it

I made the hardware component using the Arduino Uno board, one ultrasonic sensor, eight female to male wire connectors, one battery and battery connector to the Arduino Uno board. I wrote some code in the Arduino compiler (C++/C) to just sense the distance between the ultrasonic sensor and a solid object. Because electronic components may be scary to toddlers, I had the idea to sew a felt bear pouch to place the electronics inside. This would make it seem like a cute little plush friend rather than a monitoring device. I was inspired by Tiffany Weng to create little felt creatures and put the electronics in it because she made a heart monitor and made little felt bracelets to make them look less scary. (YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvEI9sZtqxCmwE4WMPcwadw) I really liked this intersection between electronics and art as I enjoy creating both. Additionally, I created some more prototypes online using OnShape, a CADing software. I couldn't print them out because I didn't have access to a 3D printer. I also created a virtual componente where parents can check their child's location from their phone or preferences device. This eventually became a bit of a challenge (please proceed to the next section: Challenges).

Challenges I ran into

Getting data to show up on some sort of device that wasn't the arduino's built in monitor was a challenge because I had never done it before, and I also needed a component that I didn't have (Arduino Bluetooth, which would help communicate data between the monitor and phone). However, I was determined to get the data to show up on some sort of user friendly output, preferably a website.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I really like that this is a product that's the first of its kind. There is only one other similar product on the market, but it is not available anymore due bad reviews online of it not working. I analyzed the reviews and the product and determined what I could make better with the technology I have at hand.

What I learned

I found a tutorial on how to transfer data from an online Arduino compiler to node js application to a website using a local host (YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQYsUjT-IBo) THis was super helpful and I learned how to use Node Js, Socket.io, and local hosts. I had to troubleshoot a lot, but it was deemed successful in the end.