Child Restraint System for Shared Mobility: Development of a Mobile, Rear-facing and Safe Car Seat for the Car Travels of the Future

Abstract

This report presents a product development project, where the preliminary aim was to develop a concept of a rear-facing Child Restraint System (CRS) adapted for shared mobility. The CRS was developed for children in the stature range 61-105cm for the main users; parents who do not own a car. The secondary aim of the project was to investigate different possible customer groups for this type of CRS solution. More and more parents are estimated to live in cities without owning a car in the future. The development of CRSs have to keep up with this trend to guarantee children's safety in the future. This project is initiated and supervised by the CRS company Axkid, with the purpose to keep up with this trend and to simplify for parents who do not own a car to travel safely and comfortably with a toddler. To accomplish the aims, User Studies were conducted to study the different customer groups, their needs and priorities related to CRSs. A new research method called User Study via Social Media was conducted to gain access to the main users since they were difficult to reach since this group is still quite small. In similar channels a Survey was published that got over 400 responses. The result of the project is the CRS concept Axkid Free - a rear-facing, foldable and mobile CRS. The concept was developed for parents who do not own a car. This group, in addition to being the main user, was found to be the most favorable customer group during User Studies, since they displayed a need for a new type of CRS, an interest and purchasing power. To comply with this group’s needs, the Axkid Free has backpack straps and a low weight for easy transport, offers better storing opportunities than the common CRS by being foldable and is quick and easy to install and uninstall thanks to the chosen attachment systems. The concept Axkid Free is developed according to the UN R129 regulation and has a rebound bar, support leg and ISOFIX attachments systems to secure optimal safety.