Cocoon

Inspiration

While we were ideating, one of our team members was on the phone with her cousin, who had just had a baby. She mentioned how anxious she felt reading so many parenting books and worrying that she wouldn’t understand what her baby needed. That’s when we had our “aha” moment. Babies have all their senses, but they can’t express what they’re feeling yet. That simple realization inspired the idea behind Cocoon.

What it does

Cocoon is a wearable pendant for caregivers that senses a baby's interoceptive signals. It translates those signals into gentle haptics and color cues, communicating five states: hunger, thirst, fatigue, discomfort, and overstimulation. A companion app visualizes daily patterns and lets caregivers customize how each state is communicated. A connected smart device gives hands-free voice updates so parents aren't staring at a screen at 3am.

How we built it

We started by following a typical design process. First, we began with research, looking into the 32 different senses that exist. We explored papers, videos, and articles to better understand them. During this process, we had an aha moment when one of our team member’s cousins called and shared her anxiety about understanding her baby. That moment helped us narrow our focus and do deeper research in that area.  Once that was done, we began speculating about what the future of caregiving might look like. Our considerations followed the design process of converging and diverging ideas, similar to the double diamond approach. After many paper iterations, sticky notes, and lots of conversations, we started to believe the idea was strong.  We then conducted some primary research with new mothers to better understand their experiences and concerns.  Finally, we moved into our favorite tool, Figma, where we began visualizing our ideas, from wireframes to visuals, the chain states, and interactions using Figma Make. And that’s how Cocoon came about

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was figuring out how to make the technology feel personal and emotionally close to both the baby and the caregiver. We explored different wearable options like watches, rings, and even skin-based devices. But what stood out was the necklace. A pendant naturally sits close to the heart, and when a caregiver lifts the baby, the baby is also close to that same place. It felt like a meaningful and natural interaction.

Second, we asked ourselves: would apps still matter in 2035? In a world of algorithmic parenting and smart everything, we had to decide if a companion app was the right surface. We concluded that apps have persisted since the late ’90s, but the ecosystems they connect to continue to evolve.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The constraint we set for ourselves: no technology on the baby. In a speculative 2035 world it would've been easy to design a sensor onesie. Instead we kept the technology on the caregiver and centered the interaction around holding which shaped everything about the product and kept it deeply human.

What we learned

Our biggest learning was understanding how to balance a very speculative idea with something that still feels grounded and believable. When designing for the future, it’s easy to imagine advanced technology, but the challenge is making sure it still connects to real human needs.  We also learned how important it is to design technology that feels nurturing rather than technical, especially in something as emotional as caregiving. Small design decisions, like choosing a necklace instead of placing sensors on the baby, can make a big difference in how a product feels.  Another key learning was realizing that parents don’t necessarily want more instructions or rigid systems. What they really need is support and reassurance while they build their own intuition.

What's next for Cocoon

We hope to get more feedback on Cocoon from stakeholders and potential users, especially parents and caregivers. Their perspectives will help us understand whether the idea truly supports their needs.  As a team, our next step would be to further think about how these interactions could feel more connected to a future ecosystem. We would also like to further develop the companion app , or even question whether an app will exist in the future, by exploring additional features, refining the visualizations, and thinking more deeply about the ecosystem around the necklace.  We’d also like to continue exploring the future of caregiving technology and what other considerations might emerge as these kinds of systems become more common.