Parents inspired to create self-driving smart stroller
A self-driving baby carriage, billed as "the world's smartest baby stroller", debuted this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The "Ella" promises "adaptive push and brake assistance" for a "hands-free strolling" experience for parents and caregivers, according to Glüxkind, the Canadian startup behind the new product. Glüxkind says the stroller would work across any terrain, even hills and icy sidewalks.
The smart stroller is also designed to work with a companion app and is purportedly powered by artificial intelligence. Among its other notable features are removable bassinet and toddler seat or car seat options, an automatic "rock-my-baby" option and a built-in white noise machine.
"It gives you a second pair of hands and another pair of eyes while you're out and about with your kid," Anne Hunger, one of Glüxkind's co-founders, told "Good Morning America," comparing the stroller's push and brake features to that of an e-bike. The mom of one added that the stroller's speed is capped at about 7 kph, or a little over 4 mph.
Hunger co-founded Glüxkind in 2020 with her husband Kevin Huang, who told "GMA" they were inspired to create a smart stroller after they started shopping for one for their own daughter, who turns 3 next week.
"When we were stroller shopping, that's when we realized, wow, all the products on the market, even the most popular ones, were really lacking in a lot of the safety tech that we take for granted in cars," Huang recalled. "And we thought, 'OK, there's got to be a way for this to be just a little bit better,' and that's how we got started."
"We were mind-blown that there's nothing that's smarter than what they used to be like 50 years ago," Hunger added.
Hunger and Huang say their smart stroller has safety features integrated into its design.
"If it comes into an environment that it's not familiar with, it would stop and wait for the input of the user to continue," Hunger said. "It's not going to run into a street."
"One of the impressions that sometimes people get is that, 'Oh, the stroller is going to be controlling itself, that you put your baby in there and send it to grandma's house.' That's not what we're intending at all," Huang added. "At all times, the parent has full control of what's happening. As soon as the parent is outside of arm's reach, it stops."
A new stroller like the "Ella" requires multiple forms of safety and use testing that adheres to government laws before it can be sold, according to Lisa Trofe, an executive director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.
"Strollers are one of the product categories that do have a federal rule and the federal rule is based on the voluntary standard [set by] ASTM International," Trofe told "GMA."
"As it pertains to this particular product and others, we're certainly interested in always understanding how we can ensure that those safe products are … available on the market to parents and consumers who might choose to use them. So, it's an exciting time, certainly, but we're always hyper-focused on safety and making sure that products are compliant with the current rules, but also being used in a way that they're intended."
The "Ella" still requires additional certification testing but Glüxkind plans to roll out a limited batch of certified products in the U.S. by June 2023, according to Huang. They are expected to retail for approximately $3,800.
Glüxkind's co-founders said they hope the "Ella" can support fellow busy parents.
"We really want parents to be able to be more present [and] spend more quality time with their kids and use their energy for the interaction and bonding with their kids rather than having to multitask," Hunger said.
