WellGuard: An Interactive System for New Parents to Care for Their Babies

Abstract

The increase in the number of infants is a clear trend as society develops and demographics change. In this situation, the health of infants becomes particularly important. Infants, due to their physiological peculiarities and underdeveloped immune systems, are, firstly, relatively sensitive to temperature changes. Their ability to regulate body temperature is not as perfect as that of adults, and they are easily affected by the external environment, making it more difficult to maintain a stable body temperature. Effects of abnormal body temperature in infants. Abnormal body temperature in infants may lead to many health problems, including but not limited to fever, hypothermia, generalized discomfort and restlessness, and decreased sleep quality. The inability of infants to actively express temperature discomfort, which can be easily overlooked, makes it important to monitor and regulate infant body temperature. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce WellGuard, a system that helps parents to effectively master basic infant care. WellGuard consists of a stroller and an app that provides real-time feedback based on the infant’s body temperature and ambient temperature while the infant is using the stroller, and changes in the infant’s body temperature as well as ambient temperature are recorded. Experimental tests were conducted to determine the basic performance of WellGuard, and a preliminary user study of WellGuard was also conducted, which showed that parents were more receptive to WellGuard and more confident in caring for their infants during the learning process.