Smart Sock Technology — A Closer Look

Wearable devices are used around the world to track health and wellness. While adults are accustomed to having daily insights into their activity, heart rate and sleep patterns; our children (specifically infants) do not experience the same benefits. Owlet believes if we give parents access to similar insights, it increases the likelihood of creating happy, healthy infants in the home.

In 2015, Owlet introduced the world’s first infant wearable device to track wellness. The Owlet Smart Sock is a wearable device that includes a smart sensor placed inside of a fabric sock that gently wraps around the baby’s foot.

Together, they work to collect heart rate, oxygen and other biometric data for parents. Here’s a look into how the Owlet Smart Sock works.

Smart Sensor: The Smart Sensor combines the power of clinically-proven technology, pulse oximetry, with Bluetooth to measure and communicate key health and wellness data from the infant. A typical pulse oximeter is roughly the size of a blu-ray player, contains several cords and wires, and costs thousands of dollars, making it difficult for daily, in-home use.

However; through technological innovations, Owlet has reduced the size and cost of this technology and placed it into a device that flexes and shapes to the infant’s foot, which then wirelessly communicates this data a base station. The base station communicates this data to your smart device.

The Smart Sensor also possesses key algorithms and dual temperature gauges to #1 accurately notify parents when something appears to wrong with heart rate or oxygen levels and to make sure the unit maintains a comfortable temperature while the device is in use. 

Fabric Sock: The fabric sock was designed to secure the Smart Sensor in the proper location and to be comfortable enough for the infant to sleep through the night, without disruption. Made with cotton, the fabric sock wraps gently, yet snugly, around your baby’s foot.

The fabric sock has a universal fit, meaning it can be alternated from each foot, left or right, to give each foot a periodic rest from wearing the sock. We typically recommend alternating the sock every 2-3 days. Each Smart Sock 2 unit comes with 3 fabric socks which are designed to grow with your baby.

Depending on the size and weight of your infant, the fabric socks will work up until around 18 months. Additional fabric socks can also be purchased.

We recommend hand washing the fabric sock with cold water and letting them air dry. Using the Smart Sock properly is critical for accurate results and ideal comfort for the baby. Watch the video below to learn more about how to properly use the Owlet Smart Sock.