The "BabyTech® Award Japan 2021" (sponsored by Papa Smile Co., Ltd.), which is being held for the third time, has selected the "Grand Prize," which is the highest award in each of eight categories, two "Excellence Awards," and the special awards "Akachanhonpo Award" and "Baby Tech Community Award. The winners were selected from among 38 products that passed the preliminary screening, after a rigorous examination by the judging committee members.

Award-winning products in each category

Breastfeeding and Eating Section

Grand Prize

NAVITIME for BABY(Navitime Japan Co., Ltd.)

A web application for childcare users of the navigation application NAVITIME. It offers optimal routes according to the means of transportation, such as "stroller," "baby carriage," and "walking together. For example, when "stroller" is selected, routes with fewer stairs and transfers are preferentially searched. Routes to nursing rooms and diaper changing stations can also be searched. The diaper-changing station information search function provides detailed reviews of even the women's restroom/multi-functional restroom when the location is a restroom, allowing users to find facilities that men can use, or for fathers and children to go out alone.

• It is itchy to optimize the route by selecting "stroller," "baby carriage," or "walking together" as search criteria. It is convenient to display the location of nursing rooms and diaper changing beds at destinations and intermediate stations, as well as image images.
• I wanted it when I was pushing my own stroller (8 years ago was the last time)! I thought.

Excellence Award

"homeal" infant food delivery service for parents and children(HOMEAL Corporation)

Provides frozen toddler meals recommended by a registered dietitian, customized for each family based on a toddler food assessment. Delivered in portions that are gently seasoned and can be eaten by both parent and child.

• What cannot be easily achieved is releasing a product that users can use with ease and without hassle. The fact that parents and children can eat together is particularly commendable. I would like to see this product evolve every year.
• Starting with the diagnosis, the entry on what kind of toddler food plan is best is reassuring. This is a follow-up to last year's entry, and I appreciate the fact that the author is expanding the awareness of toddler food not only with adults or as subs, but also as a stand-alone item or as a gift.

Learning and Playing (3 Excellence Awards due to the large number of entries)

Grand Prize

Non-Paper Theater(unouplus Inc.)

A multi-device picture storytelling application that allows the reader to control the story from a smartphone and the listener to enjoy the story by looking at a tablet. The design takes advantage of the features of picture storytelling, which allow the listener to concentrate on the world of the work and the reader to direct the world of the work, and allows the user to participate in the story through touches on the screen, which is impossible with paper.

• I think this work summarizes the simple but important essence of parent-child communication, the potential of picture-story shows as communication triggers, and the elements of play and design using digital devices. I hope that in the future, creators and ordinary users will be able to become creators and that it will spread.
• It caught me by surprise. As devices become less expensive and we enter the era of multiple devices, including TV receivers, I think this is a new approach.

Excellence Award

Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Model(Amazon Japan, LLC)

Amazon's tablet device for children. Amazon Kids+, a subscription service for children included in the set, offers unlimited use of thousands of kids' content for one year. The content is carefully reviewed by dedicated staff for peace of mind. Parental controls prevent overuse.

• The follow-up to users is substantial, and there are glimpses of measures to retain Amazon customers, which I feel is a successful business strategy. In total, thousands of contents are categorized appropriately, and I feel that there is enough volume for "interest discovery" through digital devices. If the children themselves are able to use them, they will be able to make great use of them in developing their own spontaneous play. In addition, I think the fact that the concerns have been detailed and squashed will make it easy to introduce the system into the home.
• It is wonderful that the content is verified by a dedicated staff member, making the use of this device a natural fit for school-age children. The value of this device and its use is the peace of mind that comes from having a parent watching over the child and a solid back-up system to ensure that the child has the freedom to let his or her curiosity run wild on its own.

International Exchange EN-TRY(Thinkalot Co., Ltd.)

This is a service that allows children from Japanese kindergartens and nursery schools and children from overseas kindergartens to have an online international exchange. The service provides several sessions of work to get to know each other and communicate with each other in advance to deepen understanding before the online exchange takes place.

• The Corona disaster has reduced opportunities for overseas exchanges, but of course there is nothing better than experiencing foreign countries from an early age, and I think it is wonderful that companies are able to intervene and provide opportunities for such exchanges. I was concerned about how children would react to online exchanges, as they can feel each other's emotions only when they meet face-to-face, but the exchange with Kenyan children seemed to have no problems, which further broadened my interest in the program.
• I sympathize with your attitude of refining the function as a service to serve as a link for cross-cultural exchange, which requires a lot of work. I believe that communication tools will continue to evolve with the advancement of technology, but I hope that you will grasp the insights of both Japanese and overseas preschools and create a world where international exchange among preschools is a matter of course.

KIKASETE(AvirityInformation, Inc.)

A picture book application that develops the ability to think and communicate. While reading a picture book, the on-screen characters interact with children in a fun way, posing contextual questions, knowledge questions, and speech questions that elicit children's thinking. It fosters reading comprehension, the ability to think, and the ability to communicate.

• The creation of the app as a place to develop "the ability to think and communicate" with a picture book is very unique. The fact that it is possible to interact with the app also encourages the user to consider the feelings of others and act accordingly. The risk of relying on systems and AI can be expected to more than compensate for the risk of relying on systems and AI by exposing abilities that will be needed in the future. By learning and training through a system that does not deny questions in accordance with childcare guidelines and educational guidelines, children can be expected to communicate their thoughts without shrinking. This is an application that I would like to share with parents of kindergartens for the sake of their children who will live in the future.
• I could sense the difficulty in setting up the scenario well and having the characters respond to it in a conversational manner. The voices are a bit low and flat, which could be improved. I thought it might be more immersive if either a voice actor were to add his/her voice, or if the voice were more robot-like and faltering.

Safety measures and watchdog department

Grand Prize

cocolin(Kimuratan Co., Ltd.)

A service to watch over preschool children using wearable IoT technology. Using three tools (smart wear, multi-function transmitter, and a dedicated app), the service monitors and automatically records the safety of preschool children throughout the day. The system monitors body temperature, sleeping on their stomachs, and body movements, and alerts childcare staff in the event of an abnormality. This year, the company made improvements to the smart underwear and the application.

• It is fascinating that an underwear manufacturer has once again created a 2021 version with comfort in mind. It may also provide an opportunity to change the way childcare workers work by supporting them to sleep on their backs, to capture and initially respond to changes in the physical condition of children throughout the day, and to manage records in the cloud. I could also see how the system is evolving through a series of minor improvements.
• We appreciate your normal evolution, including the expansion of needs manifestation.

Excellence Award

Cubo Ai Plus(Yun Yun Ai Baby Camera Co.,Ltd)

Little bird-shaped smart baby monitor. It has a variety of functions, including alerts that notify the user of turning over, face-covering, and crying, automatic recording of the baby's condition, and a function that warns the user of approaching areas where the user does not want the child to enter after crawling.

• For general consumers, it was wonderful to see a device that not only monitors the baby, but also allows us to enjoy the growth of our child as a result of the photos taken. I think it will be a very good device in terms of watching over newborns to prevent accidents while they are at home. I would also appreciate the ability to watch over the baby while it sleeps, and even after it waddles around, to detect intrusion into dangerous places, etc. It will be a great help for the generalization of remote work.
• It is a stand-alone product packed with high functionality, but I feel that each function is well made. Although the product is in a slightly higher price range, I think it would make a good birth gift from grandparents or friends.

MITETE.(MITETE Corporation)

A web service that allows users to search and make reservations for daycare center tours and temporary childcare services with a single smartphone. Once registered, users can visit various daycare centers and use temporary childcare services without having to make direct inquiries. Facilities can streamline their reception and reservation management operations.

• I think this is an application that is a good eye-opener, especially as an application that eliminates the hassle and anxiety on the part of parents regarding temporary childcare. However, since the functions are a bit simple, I think other companies will follow suit with apps that have expanded functions. If the app can be used to enable a certain degree of preschool tours, or if the benefits to the preschools can be offered, the number of participating preschools will probably increase, even if they have to pay for the service. This will be even more necessary when the number of users of daycare centers declines due to the declining birthrate.
• Considering that this is an important area that should be handled by the government, I would appreciate it if you could consider some kind of collaboration with the government in the future, as I think there are many things that cannot be done by private operators alone, such as the robustness of the service (for example, how to consider needs that may arise during maintenance time).

Fertility and Pregnancy Department

Grand Prize

Papa ninaru(Eversense Inc.)

A free app exclusively for dads. Necessary information on pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare is delivered daily (from pregnancy to age 3; once a week for ages 3-4) to benefit pre-dads and fathers raising children and to help support moms. Moms' feelings and advice from senior dads are also delivered, so that they can know what they should do now and can feel at ease during their first pregnancy and childcare.

• The information that men need to know when their wives are pregnant is comprehensive, and the periodic messages are good for raising awareness of "dads". The "Search" section of the app is easy to find information about preschools and kindergartens that may be of interest to him in the future.
• I found it very useful as an app that creates opportunities for communication with partners through the linkage with the mom's version of the app, daily articles, and a few words from senior dads.

Excellence Award

Mainichi no Tamahiyo, a smartphone application that provides support for 1,000 days from pregnancy to the child-rearing period(Benesse Corporation)

This is the official free application of the company's childcare brand "Tamahiyo. From pregnancy to 2 years of age, the app provides daily updates on baby's growth and expert advice along with the number of days of pregnancy and the number of days after birth. The app also features a community for mothers who share the same month of birth, a growth record, and a daddy mode.

• It is one of the contents of Benesse's Total Support and there are many similar ones. However, it is good to be able to easily keep a record of growth with a smartphone in hand. I think that the community "Room" function could be further enhanced to gain the users' agreement.
• I had the security of a service that continues to provide a stable and reliable service. I think it is highly valuable to realize that we are spending the same time raising children. Also, the "rooms" and "records" as functions allow anyone to easily and hassle-free access to information and to compile information, which will provide a foundation for appropriate interactions with the support side.

Health Care Department

Grand Prize

KidsDoctor(Northstar Inc.)

A smartphone application that provides "chat health consultation" with a nurse for sudden health concerns of children when hospitals are not open on weekdays and holidays, "online medical care" with an affiliated doctor via smartphone, and "house calls" with a doctor coming to your home. Children's health information is also provided within the application.

• This service will provide peace of mind to parents of young children by lowering the hurdle of having to go to a hospital, and by limiting the service to times when real medical services are not available. Even if the coronary crisis is under control, remote medical services will still be necessary, and we believe that there will continue to be demand for services during non-clinical hours.
• It will be reliable if we can expand the system from more lightweight online consultations to telemedicine and after-hours house calls using a network of pediatricians. We hope that this will become a larger service that solves concerns about children's health and development.

Excellence Award

ainenne(First Ascent Inc.)

AINENNE was developed to alleviate the sleep-alerting problems of caregivers. With a light alarm that mimics sunlight and an AI-based recommended wake-up time display, AINENNE supports the formation of a baby's daily rhythm, making it easier to put the baby to sleep. It has many useful functions for waking and sleeping, such as AI analysis of crying sounds and white noise playback to drown out noise, and can also be linked to our childcare record application.

• Many parents must be worried about putting their children to sleep, which is an eternal theme in child-rearing, and I think this product will receive a certain level of recognition. The device is equipped with a variety of sleep-related functions and is highly functional.
• The product development story is wonderful, taking the high road of BabyTech, including data collection from the company's Papatto childcare, machine learning of baby cries to analyze the meaning of the cries, and reaching from sleep data to reset the baby's body clock. It can also analyze crying voice, white noise to aid sleep onset, and other itchy areas. I would like to see further cycles of big data acquisition and product development.

CCS SENSOR, heat generation prediction function(CHaiLD Corporation / global bridge HOLDINGS Corporation / Queue Corporation / Xenoma Corporation)

Linked to the company's Child Care System (CCS), the system records the child's body orientation during nap time and warns against sleeping on one's stomach. The system automatically measures and records the skin temperature of the child's abdomen every minute, and notifies the childcare worker's terminal if there is a high possibility of a fever the following day due to unusual temperature fluctuations.

• Evidence shows that the improved functionality of the noon sleep sensor recording, which was previously not recognized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, has proven to be useful in childcare facilities, including our own, that use ICT tools. The development of a function to support the prediction of fever is also a wonderful idea. We look forward to further functional improvements, and hope that this will lead to the expansion of the use of this tool in the childcare field.
• I think it is advanced not only to monitor napping, but also to utilize the data and link it to fever prediction. The benefits are great, as it allows for earlier care of physical conditions and also gives family members more time to adjust their schedules. The ability to make alerts more accurate and to determine what kind of health change is predicted will facilitate cooperation with medical care.

Commemorations and Records Department

Grand Prize

Personalized picture book "BÜKI"(STUDIO BUKI Corporation)

A picture book in which the story and illustrations are created from the child's name, birthday, and other information. The customization range is wide, and the book can be personalized for each child by including the star in the night sky at the time of birth based on the child's date of birth, changing the characters that appear in the book, and so on. The service is a web-based service that produces and sells custom-made picture books that are personalized for each child.

• The idea of matching the main character of the picture book to the child himself/herself is interesting. If the number of types of stories that form the basis of picture books increases, and if the number of order patterns increases, there may be a possibility of entering the childcare market.
• I think it is wonderful that Bookey can be used as a vessel for adults to put their own special feelings on top of a more immersive experience for children in a tasteful, high quality picture book.

Excellence Award

"CollageSquare": Easy Ohirune Art at Home(Japan Ohirune Art Association / TOMOWEL Promotion Co.)

Ohirune Art is a popular content on social networking sites for "art photos made with babies, which are photographed by attaching backgrounds and accessories to babies. This service allows users to simply take pictures at home with a smartphone, without actually preparing various accessories and backgrounds for the photo shoot, and simply match them with a prepared set of Ohirune Art backgrounds.

• I thought that the hashtag #OhiruneArt on Instagram has the potential of 226,000 hits. It is wonderful that you are creating a place for people to gather and an opportunity to deepen communication between parents and children, which leads to increased self-esteem. The connection with certified instructors and companies is also likely to expand business development.
• I liked that the frustration of not being able to easily interact with people or go to real events in the Corona Disaster was deployed as an official tool for Ohirune Art. I was surprised at the performance of the automatic cropping. The fact that the baby's fuzzy hair was properly cropped made me feel that this is a compelling dedicated service.

baby pasha(CreativePocket Corporation)

A baby camera mangajet that moves automatically and specializes in the movements of babies in the nursery and crawling stage. A dedicated smartphone application attached to the main unit recognizes the baby's face and runs by itself to keep capturing it in the camera. It can safely capture eye-level photos and crawling videos while maintaining a certain distance from the baby.

• The perspective of creating a culture by preserving photographs was conveyed as being very important. I think it is interesting that children are fond of smartphones and that they can be used as a tool for taking pictures with them. As was explained in the presentation, this product is not a necessity for daily life, but it is definitely a product that adds color to our lives.
• We felt that this was the most challenging device among those we reviewed this time. As an automatic crawling photography drone, we hope it will be used as a relay camera for events such as baby crawling races.

Childcare ICT Division

Grand Prize

The company's comprehensive SaaS-based childcare tech service initiatives, including "Hi, Cheese! and other SaaS-type comprehensive childcare tech service initiatives(Sen Co., Ltd.)

The company's photo sales service for group childcare facilities, "Hai Cheese! a photo sales service for group childcare facilities, has been revamped as a comprehensive childcare tech service offering a wide range of childcare ICT services, including childcare business support, photo sales, video distribution, and album production systems.
The company will offer the industry's first (according to the company's own research) free plan in childcare business support tools, with an initial cost of 0 yen and a monthly usage fee of 0 yen.

• As the perspective of utilizing subsidies has become a prerequisite in recent years, the fact that the introduction of this comprehensive ICT-based childcare support tool is free of charge is attractive to childcare providers who have not yet adopted it.
• I found it wonderful that you started by providing the ICT infrastructure for daycare centers free of charge, and then consolidated a variety of information to make the service even better. I expect that the service will be supported by providing value by arranging consulting suitable for individual preschools and system implementation without excesses or deficiencies, while using the transaction as a base.

Excellence Award

Kizuna Connect(Nextbeat Inc.)

The company's "Childcare Worker Bank! a recruitment support service for childcare facilities provided by the company. The system is equipped with a wide range of functions, including child management, distribution of notices to parents, and calculation of childcare fees (issuing invoices and receipts).

• The new system, operated by the well-known recruiting support service Child Care Worker Bank, Inc! which is well known for its recruitment support services, has a strong relationship with preschools, so demand for this new system is expected to be high. The content of the ICT business system that met our expectations was an ICT business system from a labor perspective that corresponded to the number of preschool children, but we would like to see more merit in the system.
• Childcare Worker Bank! and the goal of strengthening the social and regional infrastructure by utilizing human resource information for childcare ICT and labor management, and beyond that, by uncovering latent childcare workers, which I thought was wonderful because it led to unique solutions to problems and various peripheral issues.

ChiReaf Space(Nihon Unisys, Ltd.)

A business support system designed to help reduce the workload of childcare workers and improve the quality of childcare. The system has functions such as attendance management, parental contact, instructional plan creation, developmental checks, and child medical records. The development check and child chart functions can be used as objective indicators by visualizing the recorded contents and comparing them with the developmental data of 40,000 people nationwide held by the service.

• The implementation of the "instructional plan creation function" and the "development check/child chart function" is a feature of the system, and the emphasis on the ability to help reduce the workload of childcare providers and improve the quality of childcare is considered to be in high demand from today's childcare field. The fact that it can also contribute to parents is highly evaluated.
• I was intrigued by the fact that the childcare plan can be studied based on the data of 40,000 children. The stable service infrastructure is trustworthy.

Research and Studies Division

Grand Prize

Research on the use of data from the "Sansan Kids System" to support children's growth and development(Goleta Networks Corporation / Clementia Corporation)

This is a behavior analysis system that captures the actual conditions of daily movements and behavioral characteristics of children from infancy to school age. In addition to detailed minute-by-minute analysis of the daily movements and postural changes of individual children, the system also evaluates the current situation and analyzes issues such as the movements of individual children among all children at kindergartens and other daily sites. We are continuing our research to improve the quality of education by utilizing this system to provide support in childcare and school education settings where many children spend their time on a daily basis.

• A system that can visualize exercise is interesting. As a wearable device for data accumulation, it has sufficient functions for data accumulation in educational settings.
• I thought it would be great if a simple activity meter could be used to analyze children's exercise and lead to monitoring their physical and mental health. As mentioned in the presentation, it could also be used for STEAM education by visualizing the amount of daily activity and the amount of activity within a certain time period using raw data from yourself and your friends around you.

Excellence Award

AI child-rearing report system with child-rearing support robot(ChiCaRo Corporation)

A developmental support system using the remote childcare support robot "ChiCaRo" for children 0-3 years old detects the developmental status of children and situations where there are developmental issues, and reports to parents and childcare providers. AI grasps the developmental status of children from the data, records developmental issues and growth scores for each child, and sends a report on necessary childcare support methods to parents and childcare professionals.

• There have been only a few cases from the perspective of developmental support, and I believe that there is a great need for this in the future. However, there is still very little information available, so it would be good to clarify what kind of data can be extracted and on what basis it will be possible to determine the presence or absence of developmental issues.
• This overlaps with the image of teleoperation, including existing robots, toys, and solutions such as Orihime. I would like to see you clarify what minimum elements are necessary to create a simple connection and a sense of being there.

Research and Study on the Design of Cardboard Crib QUICK BASE BABY(ESPAC, Inc.)

An environmentally friendly cardboard crib that is easy for anyone to assemble. It is designed for use at home as well as in times of disaster or when returning home. Research on usage, baby physique, general crib research, computerized strength testing, strength testing of prototypes, and other research to design a crib that is both small, easy to transport, easy to assemble, and strong enough for a baby to sleep safely.

• Although it is difficult to use in a normal daycare setting, it is thought that there may be demand for this product among general consumers. The fact that the number of years a crib is needed in a family is short, especially with the declining birthrate, makes the use of corrugated cardboard as a substitute for cribs an excellent idea from the perspective of the SDGs. In addition, since many households do not purchase cribs, it could also contribute to safety.
• I like the idea of a crib from a disaster bed. It will be a bed that can be used not only for disasters, but also for home use. Another good idea is to celebrate the birth of a child.

special award

Akachan Honpo Prize

Picture book reading application "Miimi"(Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. / Otobank Co., Ltd.)

This is a picture book reading application. In addition to enjoying audio of picture books read aloud by professional narrators, you can dub in some of the lines and create your own books, allowing children to actively enjoy the world of stories. The service offers a large number of commercially available picture books from famous publishers, with more than 80 books (as of August 2021), including famous works, picture books with English audio, and classic fairy tales, with more new books added every month.

Baby Tech Community Award

Obstetrics & Gynecology Online, Pediatrics Online(Kids Public Inc.)

An online comprehensive maternal and child health support business that works together with local governments, offering online consultations with an emphasis on collaboration with local governments, as well as regular and live delivery of medical articles to residents. Online consultation allows consultation with active obstetricians, midwives, and pediatricians via video and text from a smartphone.