Turning Parents’ Voices into Lifesaving Guardians

Every year, around 10 million children worldwide end up in emergency rooms due to accidents at home. According to the World Health Organization, more than 2,000 families face the heartbreaking loss of a child to a domestic accident every single day.

It only takes a few seconds of distraction for a child to face life-threatening danger. Those who survive often endure lifelong disabilities, forever altering their futures.

To address this urgent issue, we found inspiration in a powerful insight: studies show that a parent’s voice is the most effective tool to stop children from putting themselves in harm's way.

Don’t Touch This leverages motion and vibration sensors, combined with Alexa's skills, to amplify the presence of parents throughout the home, acting as an extension of their voice.

Here’s how it works: when a child approaches a restricted or hazardous area, the DTT app activates Alexa via Bluetooth to play a pre-recorded warning message from the parent, instructing the child to stay away. Simultaneously, the system sends an alert to the parents' smartphones and connected devices, ensuring they can intervene before it’s too late.

Everyday tasks like answering the door, feeding a pet, or using the bathroom can momentarily draw a parent’s attention away from their child. But with Don’t Touch This, their voice remains a vigilant guardian, always present—even when they can’t be.

DTT is a device equipped with a proximity sensor—featuring a range of approximately 7 meters—and an accelerometer, designed to be strategically placed in areas of the home that could pose risks to children.

At its core, DTT operates through a Python-based application hosted on an Amazon AWS server, which manages communication via a REST API. This robust system ensures seamless interaction between the DTT app and the device itself.

Additionally, DTT integrates with a custom Alexa skill to play personalized voice messages. This feature transforms Alexa into an extension of parental presence, delivering warnings directly to children and ensuring their safety in a smart and effective way.

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