Alphabet's Verily filed a patent for waste-sensing smart diaper technology

[Polycount]

Alphabet's subsidiaries are known to have the occasional unconventional idea - Google's X labs are a great example of that.

However, Alphabet's life sciences division Verily may take the cake as far as the development of strange and arguably useless projects go. According to an Ars Technica report, Verily filed a patent in October 2016 for smart diaper technology.

According to the patent, the smart diaper would interface with a parent or caregiver's smartphone to inform them when a child in their care lets loose. Verily's technology would also be able to determine whether or not the child in question is depositing liquids or solids.

What purpose the diaper would serve is unclear. Perhaps its intended as an early warning system to give a caregiver adequate time to cover their nose before changing a child's diaper.

At any rate, Verily seems confident in the technology's potential. Indeed, compared to current technologies that can sense the contents of a child's diaper -- which are "large [and] expensive" -- Verily believes the tech has "much room for significant advancement" in order to keep costs low and improve convenience.

In addition to waste-sensing technology, Verily's proposed device would also include temperature sensors and an accelerometer.

Ars notes that the temperatures sensor would likely be used to determine via body heat whether a diaper is on or off of a baby, while the accelerometer would reveal whether or not it's "riding low from a heavy load."

As interesting and amusing as this patent is, it's worth noting that companies like Verily file patents for strange, absurd or otherwise outlandish ideas on a fairly regular basis. As the company pointed out in a statement to Ars, patent applications alone are not necessarily indications of Verily's future product plans.

If you're a parent, would you buy a smart diaper for your children? Let us know in the comments below.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/74691-alphabet-verily-filed-patent-waste-sensing-smart-diaper.html

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

Heh... well it actually could be useful tech, more of a convenience thing than anything though. You'd think a screaming child or one that smells of urine or poo would be a good indicator; but it would be nice to know when they are sleeping so you don't have to wake them to check. Diapers are already expensive enough as it is so this tech would have to buy a mobile self contained module that could be put between a diaper and the child's skin; otherwise no one is going to buy diapers that cost 25x more because they are "smart diapers". Even worse though is now you have a combustible battery on your child along with a radio transmitter that is blasting their privates. So yeah, probably not gonna go anywhere.

 

[Kingbiscuit]

But can it power my Tesla

 

[Uncle Al]

Really? Is this for those that have no nose? Believe me, once you feed the baby a jar of prunes you'll KNOW when they have passed ..... and you won't need an alert to know what to do next!

 

[mikeusru]

Yeah, this is just like the yellow/blue line... seems like a nice thought, but then you realize it only exists so you go through more diapers.

 

[treetops]

For those rich enough to buy these diapers but not a butler. Wide market...