Far be it from us to ever encourage the use of a phone in a car, but there is a new smartphone-connected safety device for new parents that benefits from its mobile compatibility. Meet the Sirona M from Cybex, heralded as the world’s first and only smartphone-synched convertible car seat available, complete with SensorSafe 2.0 technology. These car seats are appropriate for babies or children who weigh up to 65 pounds (or about four years old). While it doesn’t require you to use your smartphone while you’re driving, it will send parents useful alerts, including when a child is accidentally left in the car, or unbuckles him or herself from the car seat. Plus, the smart car seat can also detect when the back of the car has become too hot or too cold, or if a child has been sitting still for too long.
The latest car seat to come out of the Cybex Gold Car Seat product line, the Sirona M’s SensorSafe 2.0 technology is actually integrated into the chest clip of the car seat. While the technology was initially created to prevent incidents of infant hot car deaths, the usefulness of the tool has recently been expanded to aid in child safety in a wide range of situations. All the aforementioned notifications are sent both through a companion app, as well as an installed vehicle receiver for less distracted driving. If alerts to parents or caregivers do not result in quick action being taken, the SensorSafe 2.0 will send a designated emergency contact an alert with GPS coordinates of the vehicle’s last known position.
Moreover, the Sirono M boasts adjustable Linear Side-impact Protection (LSP System), which claims to reduce side impact forces in the case of an accident by up to 25 percent. And the car seat also comes with a 12-position height adjustable headrest, as well as an integrated no-rethread harness so that your child won’t outgrow the car seat (until he or she is ready to fully graduate from this safety device). The energy absorbing shell of the car seat also helps to reduce the force your child might feel during a collision, while a dual belt adjuster ensures a tight fit.