Last but not least: Of clever slippers and equally clever diapers
Competition in the mobile communications market is fierce. As a result, companies in the industry are forced to develop radical new business ideas—which lead to products that are sometimes useful and sometimes less so.
The US telecoms giant AT&T is working flat out on innovative products that go far beyond cell phones. The best example of this is the smart slippers, which are primarily intended as alarms for older people and are designed to ensure that the user receives help as quickly as possible in an emergency. This is made possible by an accelerometer built into the sole of the shoe. This automatically sends a text message to the family or doctor in charge as soon as the wearer shows signs of dizziness or risk of falling.
So far so good, can save lives and therefore somehow makes sense. The point of smart diapers is not quite so clear. Here, a special cell phone chip is integrated into a conventional baby diaper. The chip immediately sends a text message to the parents when their offspring needs a fresh diaper. Due to a lack of experience, it is unfortunately not possible for the writer to say whether the (parenting) world has been waiting for this. But who knows, perhaps a tool can be developed that reports when the baby's stomach is empty, when it needs affection or when it needs fresh air. And then women would soon no longer have to endure the ordeal of giving birth: Who needs children - after all, a Tamagotchi will do.
(Source: Press release)
