It can scary not being able to monitor your baby while driving.
As a dad of a beautiful two-year-old daughter, I know the feeling firsthand. It was a concern when she was a newborn, and it's still a concern today. Children can be unpredictable and you just never know.
Garmin seeks to change that feeling by being the eyes in back of your head—which all parents wish they had to monitor their kids—and bringing them right to your dashboard via its babyCam. Touted by Garmin as the "first in-vehicle video monitor," the babyCam syncs with a compatible Garmin GPS navigation device, so that driving parents can get a live video feed of their baby right in front of them. The babyCam will cost $199.99, and is slated for a January 2016 release.
The way it works is simple. The actual babyCam unit, which measures a sleek 86.5 x 39.9 x 43.7 mm in a seemingly weightless frame, gets attached via a sturdy, twisted clamp to the front or back headrest, depending on the age, weight and height of your baby and if he or she is in a rear- or forward-facing carseat.
From there, the babyCam syncs with a compatible Garmin GPS navigator, which is propped on the windshield via a suction cup.
Just like that, while driving, you could see your baby's every move—and be able to monitor if he or she is sleeping or perhaps doing something they're not supposed to.
Cesar Palacios, a media associate for Garmin, tells Tech Times the babyCam can be attached to the headrest horizontally for an 81-degree viewing angle, vertically for a 59-degree viewing angle or diagonally for a 107-degree angle. Whatever the position, the view is aided by the camera's 640 x 480 (VGA) resolution video at 30 frames per second. The live video feed comes in around the same speed a back-up cam delivers its feed.
Also, up to four babyCams can be synced to one Garmin GPS navigator ... just in case you have multiple little ones. The babyCam can be charged via USB or powered with two AA batteries.
What I love about the device is how seamlessly it shifts from GPS to video monitor via the touch of the babyCam icon right on the navigator on your windshield. You can also bark a voice-activated command to switch from GPS navigation display to babyCam view.
"That way drivers can keep their hands on the wheel and stay safe at all times," Palacios says.
I found a simple "show video" command to be very responsive when switching modes from GPS to the babyCam view. It's also great that the unit has built-in night vision, allowing drivers to still view their little ones at night or during low-light conditions.
Since the navigator and babyCam are paired, the latter even reminds drivers to check for passengers once they reach their destination and are exiting their vehicle. The device does that by zapping an on-screen alert to your GPS unit. This feature attempts to avoid parents or caretakers from ever leaving an infant unattended inside a vehicle.
If you already have a Garmin GPS navigator and you're a new parent, you should strongly consider investing in the babyCam. More than anything else, it's a safety device. As parents, we're conditioned to protect our little ones at any costs and what's great about the babyCam is it eliminates false alarms. Now, if your baby makes an odd sound, your first instinct won't be to take your eyes off the road for a quick second to turn around or pull over. You'll simply check out your babyCam.
And if you have multiple kids, you can finally pinpoint who really "started it."
