Commercial Off-the-Shelf IoT-Based Infant Car Seat Application for Preventing the Forgotten Baby Syndrome

Apostolos Panagiotopoulos and Vasileios Karyotis ()
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Apostolos Panagiotopoulos: Department of Informatics, Ionian University, 49132 Corfu, Greece
Vasileios Karyotis: Department of Informatics, Ionian University, 49132 Corfu, Greece

Future Internet, 2025, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-29

Abstract: The Forgotten Baby Syndrome (FBS), the accidental abandonment of infants in vehicles, continues to result in otherwise preventable tragedies worldwide. This work presents a prototype system called SafeCuddle , designed to mitigate the risks associated with FBS. The proposed solution utilizes an Arduino UNO R4 WiFi microcontroller integrated with low-cost IoT sensors for real-time data acquisition and processing. Processed signals are visualized via a Python-based desktop application. A key feature of the system is its ability to issue immediate alerts to the driver upon detecting their departure from the vehicle while an infant remains seated in the vehicle. An extensive review of the syndrome’s etiology identifies disrupted routines and the high demands of modern life as primary contributing factors. In response, the proposed system can be easily implemented with commercial off-the-shelf components and aims to support caregivers by acting as a fail-safe mechanism. The paper is structured into two primary sections: (i) an analytical overview of FBS and its contributing factors and (ii) a detailed account of the system’s design, implementation, operational workflow, and evaluation results. The unique contribution of this work lies in the integration of a low-cost, real-time alert system within a modular and easily deployable architecture that can be integrated in existing infant car seats as an aftermarket solution, if properly commercialized, specifically tailored to prevent FBS through immediate driver feedback at the critical moment of risk.

Keywords: wireless sensor networks; Forgotten Baby Syndrome; Arduino UNO R4 WiFi; infant safety; real-time alert systems; Internet of Things; Python; vPython; Arduino Cloud (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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