This. I suppose that they are considering the use case of being out and about, but then make it a portable sensor that can be clipped onto a baby-buggy, carrier or stroller, or slipped in a pocket. Otherwise, it’s still useless if you’re out of range of the sensor. Give the sensor a vibrate mode to be discreet. No Internet or app required.
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You could turn a diaper inside out and pin it on your shirt.
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How make a Smart Kittycat LitterBox.
Soon parents won’t need to react to their child’s cry, so apps and sensors might lead children to cry less. Babies seem to enjoy playing with smartphones…I wonder if they’ll try to develop a “Smart Baby” that presses a button when it needs something. 
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Child neglect. There’s an App for that! 
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But then you would be missing out on the option of keeping your friends up to date regarding the pant-shitting status of your offspring via automated social media updates.
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Is there a rash of babies whose parents don’t know the kid needs a changing?
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Yes, the thing mostly unnecessary.
It’s also not generally a good idea to change diapers the minute they are wet. There‘s a point where it can help a kid make the connection between themselves and and the wetness, and then they can experiment with that, developing more control over their body.
But it’s cool that parents now can spend more time playing with their phone, which will show them convenient notifications about their kid’s needs. Next from MIT: sensors for hunger and sleepy time.
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I think everyone is more or less correct in these being kinda useless for babies. These things could really be a lot of help in nursing homes, though. Geriatric patients don’t always feel that they are wet, and changing diapers quickly is important to avoid rashes. It is also more intrusive to check an adult for wetness. In particular someone who will deny being wet because they don’t feel it. Kind of disappointing this use was tacked on at the end as a kind of afterthought.
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This is so 2019.
Diapers are already an environmental catastrophe. So, now, let’s make them e-waste, too!
Seems like a product designed by people with no children, to be sold to Amazon for Alexa integration. “I see that you’ve used 2/3 of your diaper supply, would you like to order more?” And of course the alarm will go off the minute there’s a hint of wetness, and won’t stop until you change the diaper, prompting higher diaper consumption.
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Generally they don’t start pushing their parents’ buttons until 2 or so.
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That was thought as well.
Over time, smart diapers may help record and identify certain health problems, such as signs of constipation or incontinence.
If you don’t know that your kid is constipated, I’m not sure you’re paying the appropriate level of attention to your kid.
Next up, a sensor to tell you when it’s breakfast time for your toddler!
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The paper, judging by the references, does not dwell on infant psychology. This is a cheaper sensor, and the problem of who will buy such a thing is left up to the reader.
from the abstract
Diaper users include infants, elderly, disabled individuals, and hospital patients. Event-based alerting can enhance care of this population by improving incontinence management, preventing rashes and infections, and avoiding embarrassment. Collected data can be used to optimize change intervals, thereby reducing waste and expense."
You dispose of it in a trashcan. The trash is then taken to a landfill.
Having a tiny little RFID chip in something doesn’t suddenly make it hazardous waste that needs special care when disposing of.
I was thinking more about the hospitals’ diapers than the children ones because I’m not sure how the hospital waste is treated, but I think it doesn’t go to a landfill.
But, I also don’t know the exact details of how they process the hospital waste and it might vary from place to place.
I don’t believe that this will reduce waste, because I also don’t believe caregivers are doggedly preserving these “change intervals” to the extent that they’re routinely discarding clean diapers. Maybe in some other country, but not in the US.
BUT, you’re right that I’m only thinking of infant care, and that there are many other use cases where this could make a huge contribution to incontinence care and quality of life. My oversight reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where he makes fun of the dermatologist, forgetting that she is the front line against skin cancer.
If the diaper was clean, it went back on. They are expensive.
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