Axkid Connect was designed to ensure children's well-being by alerting parents when a child is overheated or abandoned in their car. The product is a unique safety pad connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy. Since October 2020, the Swedish car-seats company Axkid has commercialized the pad as a separate add-on to existing child seats.
Heatstroke in cars is unfortunately far more common than one would wish, and every year incidents occur where children become overheated due to being left unattended in hot vehicles. Axkid Connect is a unique product designed to minimize the risk of human error, save lives and protect children from hyperthermia, heatstroke, and abandonment.
From first idea to launch via proof of concept, prototypes, component sourcing, to manufacturing. Our strategy, design, and development teams gathered forces to develop a product that provides parents with an additional peace of mind. We worked closely with the client throughout all aspects but had the lead on app development, design, software, hardware, and firmware.
The Techno Creatives has worked with the automotive industry since its foundation, and one topic comes into the conversation from time to time: cases of children left unsafely in cars. According to Child Safety Europe, between 2007-2009, there were 26 cases of heatstroke in France and Belgium, including seven fatalities. In the USA, the number of tragedies has an average of about 38 deaths a year for the past decade*.
So, what if we could alert the parents when a child is overheated or abandoned? Having accumulated experiences with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), sensors, and microchips a connected solution could be developed.
With the Axkid team onboard, we started the product development process together - tech PoC, firmware, manufacturing prototype, sourcing, UI and UX development, testing, and ultimately a final commercialized product. Axkid Connect, a super slim safety pad placed in the child's car seat.
The safety pad's highly sensitive and integrated sensors help to detect circumstances that are not safe. On their smartphones, the parents receive alerts when the car temperature needs to be adjusted, when their child has been seated in the car seat for too long or if their child is left alone in the car.
The companion app also allows the connection of several smartphones, enabling shared family access and monitoring of the same child seat. Furthermore, it has several language options, and access to manuals, product descriptions, and installation movies.
In addition, Axkid Connect won't become obsolete, as it's a universal solution that fits in all types of child car seats. Another advantage of the product is its durable fabric that can be removed and washed. Finally, there is a USB-C charging port, and as BLE requires less battery, the charge lasts between 6-12 months.
*Source: BBC News
