A smart bracelet that allows fathers-to-be to feel their unborn baby kicking in the womb is being developed by jewellery designers in Denmark.
The Fibo bracelet, developed by First Bond Wearables, transmits a baby's womb movements to the wearer's wrist in order to allow parents to share the experience of pregnancy—at least the good bits.
"While the mother gets the first-hand feeling of the little one growing in her belly, the dad can feel a bit left out," Sandra Pétursdóttir from First Bond Wearables tells Newsweek. "The mama is wearing a kick monitor patch—a technology produced by another startup—which detects the baby's actions.
"So when the baby kicks or moves, it sends a signal via GSM to an elegant smart bracelet that imitates the movements. The sharing happens instantly so the person wearing the wristband will feel the movement in real-time."
The bracelet uses rotating beads in order mimic a baby's womb movements, rather than vibrations that many wearable devices currently employ to deliver notifications.
The startup plans to rent out the device instead of sell it, due to the limited timeframe of its usability. While it is being worn, Fibo collects movement data that is then used to create a unique jewellery design that can be kept as a memento of the pregnancy.
"We're focusing on shared experiences and the shared economy," Pétursdóttir says. "By making Fibo, a device the parents rent during the pregnancy, an up-to-date technology and high-quality product can be guaranteed."
It is not the first device that aims to share the sensation of foetal womb movements. In 2013, nappy manufacturer Huggies developed a pregnancy belt that allows fathers to feel their baby's movements as they happen. However, it was never brought to market.
First Bond Wearables was one of several startups showing off their products at the finals of the Polar Bear Pitching competition in Oulu, Finland, Wednesday, February 16. No launch date has currently been set but it is hoped a market-ready device will be ready at some point next year.
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