Google is developing baby monitoring radar to scan infants' vital signs and send smartphone alerts of cot escapes

Google's inventors are developing a home radar system that could scan the “vital signs” of people at home and raise the alarm if they need help.

The tech giant’s devices would not only be able to locate where children and adults were in a property but would apparently be so sensitive it could pick up on their heart rhythms or breathing rate.

Google foresees antennae would be dotted around the home to constantly check on people inside, including monitoring any “abnormality or change in a baby’s vital signs” while in their cot.

According to papers published by the European Patent Office, if a change in vital signs caused alarm, the system could send out an alert via text message to parents.

The patent states: “The radar system determines the baby’s heart rate and respiration rate.

“The smart device alerts the parent if the baby is having difficulty breathing, if the baby wakes up from a nap, or if the baby escaped from the crib.”

Google’s home radar design follows its patenting of child-focussed technology including a virtual babysitter equipped with artificial intelligence capable of locking down a youngster in a room and a digital nanny programmed to “detect child mischief” and reprimand them with a “virtual warning”, which charity Kidscape criticised for promoting surveillance over the "human connection".

The company’s latest invention appears to be a miniaturised variant of Doppler radar, which is already used in hospitals as a non-invasive way to check breathing and heart rate by using antennae to find changes in microwave frequencies — essentially translating human noise into a signal for analysis.

Google’s designers claim they could capture heart rhythms or breathing rate from up to 60cm away using antennae transmitting at a constant frequency.

The invention is part of Google’s vision for the smart home of the future that goes much further than its Home virtual assistant or Nest security cameras, with plans even for a wifi-connected microwave oven to be used in a surveillance network keeping an eye on people’s health.

The same baby radar patent also reveals the development of a sensor-packed smart bedside lamp meant to monitor the owner’s sleep cycle, which calculates the best time to wake them.

Another use of the radar, according to the patent, is scanning a driver so a car could automatically dial 999 if the owners falls ill or crashes the vehicle.

The blueprint’s description says: “If the radar system determines that the driver’s heartbeat or respiration rate is indicative of the driver falling asleep, the smart device produces an audible tone to wake up the driver.

“If the driver has a heart attack while driving or becomes unconscious due to a vehicle accident, the radar system detects the driver’s condition and the smart device proactively notifies emergency services.”

Google declined to comment on the patent.

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