ALBAWABA Layali Khatib, a Palestinian teenager residing with her twin brothers in their early childhood and a newborn sibling, an ingenious idea took root, the continuous cries of the twins became the foundation for her remarkable creation – the "Maternal Guide" app.
With a vision to assist mothers in identifying the reasons behind their infants' cries, Layali's innovation brings technology and compassion together to alleviate the challenges of early parenthood.
At the age of 15, Layali, hailing from the outskirts of Jenin in the West Bank, embarked on a journey that would merge technology with maternal care.
She delved into the world of artificial intelligence to develop a program capable of analyzing infants' crying sounds and decoding their underlying causes – be it hunger, the need for sleep, discomfort, or wet diapers.
Layali's "Maternal Guide" application is a testament to the power of innovation. Utilizing artificial intelligence techniques, the app discerns the infant's needs through the sound of their cries.
It not only identifies the cause of the child's cry but also offers mothers invaluable guidance on how to address their child's needs effectively.
While Layali remains discreet about the intricacies of the application's operations, she shared that the process involves recording the crying sounds of the infant and subjecting them to analysis through artificial intelligence.
This meticulous process yields a comprehensive list of potential reasons behind the crying, coupled with suggested solutions.
Having initiated her journey in 2019, Layali boasts an impressive accuracy rate of up to 93 percent for her application. The "Maternal Guide" caters to infants under 18 months of age, extending its support to caregivers by providing practical advice and solutions to soothe their children's discomfort.
Layali's path to innovation has not been without its challenges. Fueled by her determination, she mastered coding through online resources and leveraged an open-source website to give life to her creation.
In her conversation with Reuters, Layali emphasized the uniqueness of her approach. "I didn't take the application from similar apps; the idea came from a problem I was personally facing," she stated. "The Maternal Guide differs greatly from its competitors. The app analyzes the sound, and it assists the mother."
Layali's aspiration extends beyond her current success. She envisions enhancing her application and expanding its global reach.
Her next ambitious goal revolves around developing an application that can diagnose autism. "The next step will involve programming it in a more powerful programming language than App Inventor's and making it available in multiple languages for worldwide distribution," she declared.
The story of Layali Al-Khatib serves as an inspiring testament to the transformative power of technology harnessed for human welfare.
Her "Maternal Guide" is a beacon of hope, shedding light on how youthful innovation can revolutionize parenthood, offering tangible support to mothers and caregivers while fostering a brighter future for families worldwide.
