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State of the art baby strollers

The current work is an attempt to design and fabricate an ergonomic baby stroller with the latest state of the art features. A review on the design of baby strollers in the previous years was done ranging from the year 1980 to 2014. Based on the review it was found out that the idea of a foldable frame emerged since the early 1980s where people started to prioritize space saving. The use of electronics devices in strollers has not been properly implemented due to the bulkiness of the battery and the clutter mess of wires. Infant’s safety and comfort has always been the number one priority by designing a seat that is contoured to a baby’s spine, ultimately making baby’s growth much safer. In lieu of the current work, a harmonious prototype design was fabricated using Rapid Prototyping system. The idea was to fuse the usage of electronics with the stroller by inventing modular “plug and play” attachment devices that provide customizability to baby strollers which include headlights and cooling fan attachments. Besides that, the latest state of the art designs of the ergonomic baby stroller such as a ventilated back rest, on-board rocking baby chair, bidirectional push handle with ergonomic grip support, frame with integrated hooks for storing different types of “plug and play” attachments and hooks for attaching the foldable stroller to a typical standard shopping cart were implemented.

Baby strollers are increasingly popular among the generations of baby boomers. Despite the popularity, the state of innovations in the design of baby strollers has plateaued in recent years. This article illustrates the evolution of the design of baby strollers from the year 1980 to 2014. Based on the review, it was found out that the idea of a foldable frame emerged since the early 1980s where users started to prioritize space saving. The use of electronics devices in strollers has not been properly implemented due to the bulkiness of the battery and the clutter mess of wires. In lieu of the current work, the idea was to fuse the usage of electronics with the 3 in 1 stroller by inventing modular “plug and play” attachment devices that provide customizability to baby strollers that include headlights and cooling fan attachments. The possibilities of various types of attachments will be endless.

There is significant design knowledge of baby strollers since 1980 to 2014, in which, is reviewed to identify flaws and advantages of each design. There are many methods used to transport babies around and it varies among different cultures and countries. The idea of infant transportation emerges as multitasking and convenience becomes a necessity in parent’s everyday lives. Having an infant transportation made it easier for parents as babies are no longer needed to be carried by the parents or sit on top of their parents’ back. Babies that are lacking the ability to support their head still and upright are usually carried with slings. Cradleboards are popular among Native Americans to keep babies secure and comfortable (Garrett, McElroy, & Staines, 2002).

The early stroller was developed by William Kent in 1733. William Kent designed the pockit stroller to be clam shaped and it was richly decorated and meant to be driven by a small animal such as a goat. Benjamin Potter Crandall saw the potential of this and was the first person in America to sell baby strollers commercially in 1830s. His son, Jesse Armour Crandall further improves the design by adding brake to carriages, designing a frame that is foldable, and a frame that receives devices such as an umbrella (Amato, 2004).