Remi is a smart alarm clock that trains your child how to sleep better. Made by Paris-based startup UrbanHello, Remi’s mission is be a friendly companion for a child that tells your child when it is OK to wake up.
The National Sleep Foundation found in a study that two-thirds of children under 10 have trouble sleeping. That can lead to problems such as poor growth, lack of attention, difficulties learning, and even general unhappiness. UrbanHello showed Remi at CES 2017, the big tech trade show last week in Las Vegas.
“Remi tells the kid when it’s OK to stay in bed, or when it’s OK to jump on mommy and daddy’s bed,” said Hervé Artus, CEO of UrbanHello, in an interview with VentureBeat. “It helps parents learn if the child is moving in the right direction when it comes to sleep routines.”
Remi is a smart, scalable bedside clock designed for children from birth to make sleep simple. For the youngest kids, it acts as a baby monitor and speaker. It can record noise and temperature inside the room. For older kids up to 10 years old, it’s like a coach that tells them how to sleep better.
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If the clock’s face is asleep, that means the child should stay in bed longer. If the clock is awake and smiling, then it’s time to wake up. Parents can customize the clock’s face and color to mean different things. A certain color might mean that it’s time to brush your teeth, Artus said.
Above: Remi is a friendly companion for your child.
Each morning when the child wakes up, Remi calculates a sleep score, enabling parents to monitor progress to check if the child’s sleep patterns are improving. A sleep log also allows them to track and understand the best conditions for putting the child to sleep, Artus said.
Remi can play nursery rhymes and the child’s favorite songs, stored by the parents, or simply be used as a Bluetooth speaker for streaming from a tablet or smartphone.
UrbanHello has been around for five years in Paris. It previously made a telephone. Remi will be available in the U.S. in April for $99. UrbanHello has seven employees, and it has raised a round of funding. The company is looking for a new round.
Pierre Bitoun, a pediatrician in Paris who’s also a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement, “Remi can be very useful to assist pediatric assessment of toddlers’ sleep cycles; parents can show their pediatrician their child’s sleep patterns and the frequency and duration of wakeful periods in the night.”
Remi is connected to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It can play MP3 music, and the app is available on both iOS and Android. Hervé Artus and his wife Catherine started the company in 2012.
