Panasonic ME310 Spring Design Document

Mobility has evolved drastically over the past few decades and will continue to do so in the near future. Even today, personal ownership of cars among millennials is reducing. A significant fraction of people are resorting to car ride-sharing options like Uber and Lyft for their everyday commute. By 2030, Panasonic has envisioned the implementation of the Green Belt Initiative which focuses on making cities greener and completely car-free. In such communities, people travel within cities using public transport only.
In accordance with this vision for Green Belt communities, Panasonic has tasked student teams from Stanford University, CA, United States and Swinburne University, Australia to explore what the future of mobility would look like in this setting. The objectives are to provide more effective and optimal mobility solutions while making the process of moving more engaging and enjoyable.
Studying market trends, we observed that popularity of ride sharing electric scooter services provided by Lime and Bird in the United States is growing at a rapid rate overtaking other traditional ride sharing options for short commutes. However, through our need-finding we identified that there are no existing solutions on the market for young parents to travel with their kids using electric scooters. Presently, strollers restrict both the speed at which parents can move around with their kids and the storage space available to them to carry necessary personal items. Electric powered strollers exist but are too expensive for a product which is useful only for a couple of years and hence have not gained popularity in the market. To solve these issues of mobility and lack of storage space, we designed KOKO. It is a novel, multifunctional baby-carrier which can be used a regular stroller while walking but can also reconfigure to attach to electric scooters like a trailer to provide an electric boost.