The automotive industry isn’t the only one looking at hands-free driving technology. A Canadian company recently showed that autonomous tech could make life easier for new parents, too.
Glüxkind Technologies showed its new smart stroller, dubbed the “Ella” at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Designed to make life easier for people taking care of young children, the stroller can keep up with an adult without them having to use their hands.
The brainchild of Kevin Huang and Anne Hunger, the new stroller comes with a few caveats. Adults must still have their hands on the stroller if there’s a child inside, but the Ella will move itself if it’s empty and the adult is behind it.
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Gluxkind
“So, for example, you have a newborn and they are crying. They want to be soothed and held,” Hunger told CTV News. “Then parents can just do that—they have their two hands and their full attention for the child, and the stroller basically takes care of itself.”
Otherwise, Hunger says that it works a bit like an e-Bike. Thanks to its electric motors, it can help an adult who is pushing it up a hill by taking some of the strain off them. Those motors can also be used to rock the Ella back and forth, in order to help lull a baby to sleep.
The battery is expected to work for up to eight hours, and recharges in about four hours. For owners who will use their Ella a lot, the batteries can be fully removed and swapped while charging.
Huang and Hunger landed on the idea of creating an autonomous stroller in 2020, while they were expecting their first child. Now, they have a working stroller with motors, sensors, and a 360-degree field of vision.
All of that technology, though, doesn’t come cheap. CNET reports that the Ella will cost $3,800, though it can be fitted with a car seat, bassinet, and all of the options that you might expect from a fancy pants stroller.