‘Shazam for baby cries’: Montreal AI-powered app translates infant’s crying

Nadine Hallab is navigating life as a new mom.

One of the most difficult challenges so far? Understanding what her baby Angelina needs when she cries.

“Oh it’s so hard,” said Hallab.

Enter Nanni AI: a mobile application from Montreal-based company Ubenwa Health that purports to translate a baby’s cries into words. Users simply record a few seconds of their baby crying using the app, and it tells them what the child is feeling.

“In simple words, it’s the equivalent to Shazam for baby cries,” said Khaled Said, vice-president of product at Ubenwa.

“You open the application, and there is a big record button, you press it, and you record for a few seconds of the baby cries and it gives the probable cause of why the baby is crying. And it’s one of the four reasons at the moment: discomfort, pain, hunger, tiredness. And on top of that, it gives you soothing recommendations to calm the baby, also using AI.”

The launch of the free Nanni AI mobile app is an essential step in Ubenwa Health’s journey, the company says, as it envisions the application ultimately helping in the early detection of medical conditions in newborns, and in turn reducing pressure on hospitals.

“The long-term vision is to integrate our technology with monitoring tools at hospitals, clinics and home once we get our FDA approval from the Ministry of Health in Canada,” Said explained.

“And this way it will ease the stress for parents, especially in our system where wait times are long and there is a lot of demand on the medical system, and it is not easy to see a doctor all the time and to have the reassurance that there is monitoring at home, and they will get insights while they are at home.”

Nanni AI is available in both English and French.

“Babies have been telling us about a lot through their cries forever, and it is time to listen.”