Filo’s Tata prevents parents from forgetting kids in car seats
The company demoed the Tata Pad and Band at CES 2021.
Since 1998, more than 800 children have died in the United States after being forgotten in cars. The Italian startup Filo has created a Bluetooth-based baby alarm system dubbed Tata that is placed in or on the car seat to prevent these tragic accidents.
The system hinges on the Tata Pad, a Bluetooth-connected cushion that is placed below your child in the car seat and detects when the child is sitting on it. Depending on your state’s safety requirements, the Tata Band is an alternative to the Pad that attaches to one of the car seat’s shoulder straps. If the sensor in the Pad or the Band loses connection to your phone while your child is still in the car, you’ll receive a smartphone alert reminding you to avoid leaving your baby behind.
And you won’t just get one alert either. The first alert is a smartphone notification that’s delivered three minutes after the connection is lost. The second is a phone call one minute later, and the final alert is a series of calls to the emergency contacts you as the parent have added via the app. Those alerted will be given the option to track the child’s GPS position as well. The Tata system can also send alerts to your emergency contacts if a phone and a child are both left in the car, and has features to check on a phone's battery life and Bluetooth connection.
Both devices are designed to be easy to clean and to work with a wide variety of car seats and state requirements. Although not widely available yet, Filo has already sold more than a million devices in Italy and hopes to have both products ready for purchase in the US soon.
