McMaster’s Baby Lab turns iPhones/iPads into community research tools to study infant development
McMaster’s Baby Lab is deploying iPhones and iPads as video sensors to track eye/head movement and 52 facial expressions, with an open‑source pipeline for analysis. Founded in 2020, the lab has engaged nearly 3,000 families and 100+ undergraduates; eight iPads were bought via a Faculty of Science grant and tools will be released free after testing.
Gabriel Xiao and his Baby Lab team developed software that uses iPhone and iPad cameras to record eye and head movements and 52 facial expressions without attached sensors. Raw data are processed through an open‑source analysis pipeline built by postdoc Jesse Pazdera. Since 2020 Baby Lab has worked with nearly 3,000 families and more than 100 undergraduates have gained hands‑on experience. Xiao purchased eight iPads with a Faculty of Science grant and the system is undergoing validation; the tools will be made freely available once testing is complete. International data collection in Japan included 340 children.