Crib warming blankets already exist, and I think that at a capacious crib a blanket with cool zones on the sides generated with peltier effect could make some babies happy, especially when it is warm out. Always the option of cool side of the pillow for the baby.

A possible added feature: the baby monitor camera could see in IR as well, and product development could find out which temperatures cause minimized crying, longest sleep, and most baby smiles. This could be used to adjust the warming/cooling crib pad to make babies happiest.
-- beanangel, May 09 2021

Hmm... using an IR camera (& some digital smarts) to monitor the difference in temp between the baby & the mattress could work. I assume that there would be an optimum/preference for said difference. Add a tilt mechanism to the bed to encourage (NOT roll uncontrollably...) the baby to move to the best spot. Moving the baby would work better than adjusting the temperature (temp changes have lag etc...).
-- neutrinos_shadow, May 10 2021


//tilt mechanism//

As a new kind of baby toy they could find out if babies of some age enjoy rolling downhill, sort of like the fun of rolling downhill you might have noticed at elementary school age. If they do the crib could use the tilt mechanism to keep the baby rolling back and forth however much the baby wanted, from none to lots; software would notice smiles, and the baby equivalent of saying "wheee!" and tune the oscillation frequency to make the baby happiest.
-- beanangel, May 10 2021


Half of the real problem isn't uncomfortable cribs, it's parents unwilling or unable to spend the required 16 hours per day actively caring for baby. In humanity's past this was resolved by extended families (i.e. grandparents) living with the parents and helping out, or by tribes helping out. But then it became known that money should be paid for services and grandparents are better left in care homes where they can be neglected by professionals.
-- Voice, May 10 2021



random, halfbakery