Customer
Specializing in smart baby products, the client aimed to create a complete IoT ecosystem in a smart bassinet. Softeq was asked to help develop a mobile app and a secure web back end.
"Happiest Baby, Inc., employed Softeq to help launch our flagship product SNOO, the world's smartest baby bed. The partnership contributed to SNOO’s successful launch, which has since won several awards, including CES 2017 Best of Baby Tech & Safety and the 2017 BIG Innovation Award."
- BUSINESS NAME Happiest Baby Inc.
- LOCATION USA
- BUSINESS ACTIVITY The company specializes in smart baby products
Solution
Mobile
The app serves as a remote control and baby monitor. Softeq engineers simultaneously built the iOS and Android version of the mobile app using cross-platform Xamarin technology. The mobile app allows users to control the bassinet remotely, setting parameters via a mobile phone.
Application Functionality
Parents can use the mobile app to:
- Switch soothing intensity levels remotely
- Lock a specific level of calming intensity
- Set the soothing intensity limit and sensitivity of the microphones individually for their baby
- Set the white noise volume and change the starting level of the soothing intensity
- Choose between Preemie and Weaning calming regimes, that differ in the soothing intensity and sound production
- Get push notifications
- See tips on using the bassinet
- Check their baby’s sleep statistics and review sleep trend diagrams
Web Back End
Information security and smooth bassinet-mobile intercommunication were the client’s top priorities. The back end is realized as a combination of an admin panel, a cloud-hosted single page application, and a stack of microservices.
The back end provides constant and stable interaction between all elements of the solution architecture: mobile app, firmware, and hardware. It ensures that parents won’t miss a signal from the bassinet, when the baby needs their personal attention.
Key Back-end Functions
- Firmware and mobile app Over-the-Air update
- Registered bassinet management
- Mobile push notifications for parents
- User authorization and analytics
- Errors and service status notifications for administrators
- Event logging
Firmware
The Softeq’s engineers supplemented the client’s firmware team and implemented a major piece of firmware to underlie the bassinet’s functionality.
The firmware processes the data flow from embedded sound sensors, allowing the bassinet to recognize when the baby is crying and automatically choose the appropriate soothing level.
Firmware Functionality
As an extension of the Happiest Baby team, Softeq contributed to the following functionality:
- Over-the-Air updates of firmware, drivers, Linux utilities, launchers
- Primary firmware installation at the factory
- Remote bassinet-mobile app connection
- Restoration to the factory defaults
- Linux utility bug fixing
- Python tests for automated firmware testing
Software and Firmware Updates
The client’s Sales & Marketing team maintains communication with bassinet users to improve the product’s performance and functionality. Based on user feedback, Softeq and the client’s team regularly upgrade the bassinet’s software and firmware. This is done so that earlier versions of the bassinet remain compatible with all the new functions, features, and interfaces added in the newest versions.
When a new major firmware update or mobile app is released, the back end automatically finds the bassinets/mobile clients with previous versions and updates them remotely.
