Google could be working on a smart crib that can tell you why your baby is crying

Flickr/djs1021

Google wants to take its smart technology into your kids' bedrooms.

The tech giant was awarded a patent Thursday for a smart crib embedded with sensors. The sensors can do things like monitor the baby's movements and keep tabs on the environmental factors to make sure the baby is safe.

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For example, you could program the sensor to send an alert to your phone if the room gets too hot or too cold. But the sensors could also have other functions, like letting you know if the baby is awake based on its movement, has a dirty diaper, or is coughing or sneezing an unusual amount.

The coolest part of the crib would be its ability to detect what's going on with your baby and attempt to respond to the issue. So, if your baby starts crying, the crib could activate an attached entertainment device to display LED cartoon animals on the ceiling to calm the baby down. Or, it could play calming music through an integrated speaker.

US Patent and Trademark Office

The patent even outlines using an algorithm that can analyze a baby's different cries to learn if one cry indicates a need for a diaper change while another could indicate the baby is hungry. The crib could then try to comfort the baby itself or send an alert to a parent's phone about what it thinks the problem is.

Parents could even program the crib to display fun lighting on the ceiling at times the baby typically wakes up.

The patent inventor is Maxime Veron, the director of Nest hardware product management and marketing at Google's parent company Alphabet. A smart crib would fall under Nest's vision for a connected home.

Just because Google filed the patent doesn't necessarily mean it will be making a smart crib anytime soon, if at all. Google did not immediately respond to Tech Insider's request for comment.

But it's cool to think of a future where your crib could help you figure out why your baby won't stop wailing.