Bluetooth technology enables secure, wireless communication to alert caretaker if child is left in car
AUSTIN, Texas – February 24, 2021 – Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leading provider of silicon, software and solutions for a smarter, more connected world, today announced that Italian Internet of Things (IoT) startup Filo leverages Silicon Labs Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) solutions in their Tata Pad and Tata Band baby car seat alarms. A Bluetooth-connected cushion, the Tata Pad is placed in the car seat to detect the child’s presence and will alert the caretaker’s smartphone if connection is lost while the child is in the car. The more recently launched Tata Band, designed to address varying regional safety requirements, attaches to the seat’s shoulder straps, rather than going directly in the seat. Filo selected Silicon Labs due to its Bluetooth security stack which enables both products to securely connect to the internet and communicate directly to customers’ smartphones.
“We are proud to provide the technology for innovative products that save lives and benefit society,” said Matt Saunders, vice president of IoT at Silicon Labs. “Filo’s Tata products are redefining childcare with state-of-the-art, user-friendly products for parents and caretakers made possible by our Bluetooth solutions.”
Silicon Labs’ Bluetooth modules enable secure, wireless communication between the Tata products and the user’s smartphone. If the Tata sensor loses connection to the caretaker’s smartphone while the child is still in the car, Tata can trigger three levels of alarms depending on time lapsed: the first alert is a smartphone notification delivered three minutes after connection is lost; the second is a phone call one minute later, and the final alert consists of phone calls to emergency contacts previously selected in the app.
“Since inception, our company has strived to create solutions that offer consumers peace of mind,” said Giorgio Sadolfo, CEO at Filo. “We chose Silicon Labs’ Bluetooth technology because of its industry-leading security stack layer and robust features which allow us to simplify and scale our product development.”
Children being left in car seats is a recurring cause of death in many countries. The United States has seen an average of 39 yearly deaths in the past four years. In 2019, Italy became the first country to mandate new technologies to prevent children secured in car seats from being left in vehicles. According to the European Commission, similar legislation is expected in other EU countries in accordance with the European New Car Assessment Programme (NACP) 2025 Roadmap.
The Tata Pad uses Silicon Labs’ BGM123A and the Tata Band uses BGM220S. For more information on Silicon Labs Bluetooth LE solutions, visit silabs.com/wireless/bluetooth. The Tata Pad is currently available in Italy, Spain, Poland, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom; United States availability is expected by the end of 2021.
For more information on the Tata Pad, visit https://getmytata.com/en/; for more information about the BGM123A and BGM220S modules, visit https://www.silabs.com/wireless/bluetooth.