Nana is the next generation of baby sleep monitoring

Sleep monitoring system Nana targets the delicate issue of infant sleep and parenting. Most young parents will agree that their baby’s sleep is vital to their own well-being. Nana positions itself as a solution for parents who really want to know all about their offspring’s sleep, and find ways to influence healthy sleep patterns.

Going far beyond what regular monitors that rely on audio or video feeds can do, Nana directly measures the child’s heartbeat and respiration, analyzes the data, and alerts parents or other persons in the caretaker circle when there is cause for concern.

Micro-bending sensors

Nana is made up of four main components. The key element is a sensor mat using so-called micro-bending sensors. The mat is very thin and can be slipped under the baby’s mattress. The company claims the mat is sensitive enough to accurately pick up the baby’s heartbeat through the mattress and sheets.

Second, there is a wifi-enabled communicator unit which is placed next to the baby’s cot. It sends out information to the third component, a cloud-based analytics engine that interprets the data streaming through the communicator.

The last component is a mobile app, which the company will make available for both android and iOS. Those in the designated caretaker circle can install it on their devices to receive real-time updates.

Over time, the company says, the system will help parents truly understand the baby’s sleep patterns,  so that they can make informed decisions about the environment around them which let the baby sleep better and more regularly. For instance, external conditions such as lighting, room temperature, and choosing to activate music or white noise to aid sleep can be tested and adjusted to yield the best results.

Ready to ship by November

Nana’s founder, Chern Wern Mah, was a product designer at HP before he decided to pursue his dream of starting a smart hardware company. He was specifically interested in data collected from wearable devices, but wasn’t too fond of the devices themselves. “I wish technology would blend more seamlessly into our lives without us strapping more and more stuff to our bodies,” Chern says.

He met Toi Ngee, who is now Nana’s engineering lead, by chance. The two shared an interest in microbending fiber optics sensors and data analytics, and came up with Nana as a concept that combines both in an extremely useful application with a potentially large market.

Nana was started in November 2014 and now has a team of seven working on rolling out the product at a larger scale. The company is now already taking pre-orders through its website, and will launch a Kickstarter campaign soon to attract even more. Chern expects it to start shipping in November 2015.