Car Seat Accessory Combats Hot Cars

An average of 38 children tragically die each year after being left in hot cars. Five recent Rice University graduates, however, have designed Infant SOS, a new car seat accessory that can protect infants accidentally left in hot cars and notify caregivers and emergency personnel.

The device, fitted into standard car seats, can issue auditory, visual, and text alerts when it senses that the infant is in danger. It also features a passive cooling system to keep an infant’s core temperature below a critical point (heat stroke begins at 104°F) until emergency responders arrive.

Another team of developers will work to streamline the device’s alert system during the 2015-2016 academic year. The students’ ultimate goal is to make the tool easy to use and accessible to a large market at a cost of approximately $150. Stay tuned for more info!

Child Care Finder

The Child Care Square (TheChildCareSquare.com) is a virtual town square where parents seeking child care can quickly and easily connect with licensed providers in their neighborhood. This free service offers busy parents the most time-efficient, streamlined, and frustration-free way to find the very best child care solution for their needs.

With a single swift click of the mouse, the comprehensive database allows parents to send an e-mail to every licensed child care provider within a 5-mile radius of their specified address. Upon receipt of the care request, the provider will evaluate their availability and contact the parent to answer further questions and to arrange for a program tour.

Child Safety Wristband

Buddy Tag (MyBuddyTag.com) is a wearable child safety wristband that helps prevent lost children and accidental drownings. Designed so that it cannot be easily removed by a child or predator, the stylish Buddy Tag is the only tool of its kind on the market that serves dual functionality and features a proximity alert system, iPhone & Android app compatibility, personal ID, panic button, and email/map system.

Educational App

Planet Read! is a free educational tool that helps students learn to read and spell by using mini lessons, interactive games, and pictures. Now available for the iPhone and iPad, this phonics-based app trains students (age 4+) to understand and read proficiently (without memorizing) by decoding unfamiliar words and introducing all short, long, and diphthong vowel sounds using 54 short stories.

Students are rewarded for their hard work and progress with collector’s awards which reflect what tasks they have successfully completed. Ideal for:

• Beginner students who wish to learn how to read and spell.
• Mature students who wish to improve their reading and spelling foundation.
• Students with reading disabilities who wish to learn how to decode an overabundance of words.
• Students who wish to learn and improve their English language.

Organization App

Complete (free in iTunes) is the world’s first community-based to-do app; perfect for parents looking for tips and resources to get their task lists done. Create a task in the app and sit back as the community brings you the information, advice, and motivation to get it done! Have a long term goal – perhaps finishing your child’s baby book or getting a nursery finished? Create a journey on Complete and refresh your goal with updates to show your progress to friends and family. Once you complete a task, celebrate the accomplishment with the community you’ve built. People who publish public to-do lists on Complete are four times more likely to finish them.

Smoke & Weather Alarm

Halo WX (HaloSmartLabs.com) is the only smoke alarm to combine all the features and benefits of Halo (an industry-first combination of sensor technology for flash fires, smoldering fires, and carbon monoxide in a single device) with customizable natural disaster alerts to create the most comprehensive alert system for hazards in and around your home. With the patented “Imminent Danger” feature, you can set the device to alert you via mobile to threats, such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and nuclear emergencies. Halo WX devices start at $60.