B.C. company's AI-driven autonomous stroller turns heads at Las Vegas electronics show
A Vancouver company has rolled into the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with a head-turning invention it says will make life easier for new parents.
The Gluxkind Ella is the “smartest stroller in the world,” according to company co-founder Kevin Huang.
Huang and his wife Anne Hunger came up with the idea in 2020 while expecting their first child.
Less than three years later, they have a fully working stroller equipped with a self-propelled motor and sensors that provide a 360-degree field of vision.
"It's motor-assisted so you can think of it like an e-bike,” said Hunger, who serves as Gluxkind’s CEO. “You put a little bit of effort in but the stroller itself really does the heavy lifting."
When there is a child inside, the autonomous motor will only work if someone is touching the stroller’s handlebar – otherwise the brakes engage.
According to Hunger, the real magic happens when you take the child out.
"So, for example, you have a newborn and they are crying. They want to be soothed and held,” she said. “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."
Hunger and Huang have taken the stroller out in Vancouver on many occasions and say it always draws lots of attention.
"I can tell you the number one comment is, 'Where were you when our kids were little?'" she said.
CTV News showed a video of the autonomous stroller to expectant mother Aryana Sye.
“I think it’s cool. My only concern as a soon-to-be new parent is the technology,” she said expressing safety concerns.
Hunger said safety is the company’s highest priority, and it is working to get the Gluxkind Ella certified to Canadian and American standards for strollers and consumer electronics.
She says the goal is to make life a little easier for parents, who sometimes have strollers weighted down with groceries or other items.
"Especially in Vancouver as well, there's so many hills and you see parents struggling going uphill and downhill with a fully-loaded stroller,” Hunger said.
The Gluxkind Ella was honoured with a CES Innovation Award.
The company hopes to ship its first 100 strollers sometime this year but the smart technology won’t come cheap – initial pricing will be US$3,800 per unit.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.