As the smartphone set begins to spawn, they're looking to technology to help them parent. The Owlet Smartsock brings the world of wearables into the nursery, letting parents check their baby's vital signs from their phone. Designed with the same pulse-oximetry technology used in hospitals, the Owlet is more than a baby monitor, it's a life-saving parenting tool.

Ask any parent, baby monitors are an essential parenting tool, acting as an extra set of ears that lets parents be in two places at once. However, baby monitors are also a limited technology, essentially unchanged since hitting the market in the 1930's, and they run the risk of lulling parents into a false sense of security.

In the US there's an average of about 3,500 Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUIDs) per year. Baby monitors can help to prevent some of these, but closer monitoring has the potential to prevent many more

The Owlet Smartsock combines hospital-grade pulse oximetry technology with a bluetooth transmitter that connects to an independent base station. An indicator light on the base station shows green when vital signs are normal and red when something requires a parent's attention. When parents are away from the base station it transmits to their mobile devices via an app that sends push notifications when vital signs are abnormal.

While Owlet is a wearable, it's also very much a baby product. Soft, light, and nontoxic materials keep the baby comfortable while wearing the sock. Pastel colors, a charging station that doubles as a night light, and a friendly animal logo come together for a product and brand that's both future-facing and baby-friendly.

The response to the Owlet has been enormous. Countless awards, $7 million raised in a Series A funding round, a grant award from the National Institutes of Health, recognition from the Mayo Clinic, and most importantly, heartfelt testimonials from parents who've told us how Owlet's alerts helped them intervene in life-threatening emergencies.