Show HN: WebRTC LAN Baby Monitor for iOS and iPadOS

(apps.apple.com)

52 points by ryan-a 3 days ago

12 comments

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Hey all,

Just wanted to show off this app I built, its a LAN based WebRTC baby monitor that connects any apple devices together over WIFI so you can turn an old iPad or iPhone into a baby monitor!

I got a bit sick of all the sketchy products that require you to buy another device and may or may not connect to Chinese servers and store all your information somewhere.

So I figured what if there were no servers and we could just use our existing devices!

I would love any feedback! You will need two apple devices to test it, but simulators do work.

pfexec 3 days ago

This is DOA not because there is anything wrong with the app, but because iDevices make objectively poor baby monitors.

Babies sleep a lot. A LOT. Any halfway decent baby monitor needs the ability to see in the dark (IR illumination) which iDevices don't have, so unless it's relegated to monitoring play areas during the day, its usefulness is limited. That doesn't mean the software isn't well designed, the hardware is simply not fit for purpose.

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  • pcardoso 3 days ago

    I think video is not really required in a baby monitor. A nice to have, perhaps.

    As I said in another thread, I used a audio-only baby monitor with 3 kids and didn't feel the need for video.

    We just wanted to know if the baby started crying or woke up. And in our case, if it stopped breathing (we were afraid of SIDS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIDS).

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  • bartvk 3 days ago

    For a couple of years, we used a baby monitor on an iPad in the baby room. We never used IR illumination, instead we just waited until we got a notification on our phone, then watched the video. It was never utterly dark in the baby's room, but you can also remotely turn on the iPad LED light.

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    • ryan-a 2 days ago

      Thats really interesting, yeah I think that audio alone can be helpful. The notification though is actually really important now that you mention it I will see if I can add that in the next update!

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pcardoso 3 days ago

Congratulations on this project, excellent idea.

I sometimes used a FaceTime call between an iPad and my phone as a make shift baby monitor. Audio only, I don’t think video is really necessary. In fact, our Angelcare monitor at home was audio only.

Ours also had sleep apnea detection (a mat to put below the mattress), perhaps the accelerometers could be used to detect lack of movement.

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  • ryan-a 2 days ago

    Thats great! I got the idea from a similar setup actually, I set this app up so you can connect and disconnect any time though so you dont have to walk into the room to accept the call.

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zuhsetaqi 3 days ago

Thanks for creating this app, makes a solid first impression. First thing I miss is the ability to switch the back camera which should perform better in low light.

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