Press Release
AirWalker Infants Walker by Satyakam Sharma and Himanshu Soni Is Granted the A' Design Award in Baby, Kids' and Children's Products Design
Satyakam Sharma and Himanshu Soni acknowledged for baby, kids' and children's products design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that AirWalker Infants Walker by Satyakam Sharma and Himanshu Soni, designed for Satyakam & Himanshu, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Baby, Kids' and Children's Products Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The A' Design Award Explained
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
Regarding AirWalker Infants Walker
AirWalker is an air-assisted walking device for infants. Four propellers, based on the quadcopter technology used in drones, provide a gentle lift equal to about half of the body weight of the child. The lift encourages the child to stand and to balance with her own muscles. AirWalker hovers but does not move forward by itself, so the child uses her legs to advance. Safety grills cover the propellers, and built-in sensors keep the device level and limit the lift to about six inches above the ground. AirWalker supports the natural learning of balance, postural control and muscle strength.
Award Record
This recognition makes Satyakam Sharma and Himanshu Soni a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Baby, Kids and Children's Products Design Award
The A' Baby Products Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good baby product designs by leading brands and designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to baby product designers, industrial designers, toy companies and children's product manufacturers from all countries. Typical entries include strollers, car seats, baby monitors, high chairs, baby bottles and pacifiers. The awarded baby products designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/baby-products
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/118865
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/118865
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!118865
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/293022
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- AirWalker Infants Walker
- Function
- Infants Walker
- Category
- Baby, Kids' and Children's Products Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Kids
- Colors
- Gainsboro, Lavender, Pale Turquoise, Peru and Light Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Satyakam & Himanshu
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Satyakam Sharma and Himanshu Soni
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #118865
Credits
- Team
- Satyakam Sharma and Himanshu Shekhar Soni
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- AirWalker addresses the challenges posed by conventional walkers. As the name suggests, AirWalker is an air-assisted walking device based on quadcopter technology (also referred as UAV technology), which is commonly used in drones. It consists of four propellers that provide a gentle lift to the child of about half of her body weight, which encourages the child to stand and balance the body using her own muscles. It provides a gentle lift but does not advances by itself, which encourages the child to use her muscles to move forward. It helps the child in learning balance, postural control, weight shifting, and in developing muscle strength in a more natural way.
- Inspiration
- Research from American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that conventional walkers actually delay independent walking because they do not help the child in learning postural control, balance and weight shifting. They do not help in muscle development and do not support baby natural reflexive response .
- Research
- Research from American Academy of Pediatrics show that walkers rather impede or delay independent walking and are unsafe to use. Conventional walkers do not help in learning postural control, balance, weight shifting, muscle development and do not support baby’s natural, reflexive response . Rather than providing a gentle lift to the child, they provide a seating on the rolling wheels, which drifts them away from the natural process of learning to walk. 1.American Academy of Pediatrics Committee On Injury And Poison Prevention. (1995). Injuries Associated With Infant Walkers. Pediatrics, 95(5), 778-780. 2.Siegel, A. C., & Burton, R. V. (1999).
- Challenge
- There were two main challenges in the project: 1.Past research indicates that conventional walkers do not help in learning postural control, balance, weight shifting, muscle development and do not support baby’s natural, reflexive response. The most challenging part of the design was conceiving and developing a walker for child that would make the process of learning to walk more natural and playful. 2.Another challenge for us was to ensure that this product is unquestionably safe for the child. We thoughtfully integrated safety features (described in the specification section) to make it an absolutely safe and error-proof design
- Realization and Technology
- AirWalker is an air assisted walking device based on quadcopter technology (also referred as UAV technology), which is commonly used in drones. It consists of four propellers that provides a gentle lift to the child from the ground. Quadcopter technology used in AirWalker is being used in various products such as remote-assisted drone toys and camera integrated drones.
- Operation and Interaction
- AirWalker rests on its four legs when in rest position. Parents can switch ON the device once the infant sits on AirWalker. Propellers start to rotate, providing a gentle 3-4Kg lifting force, which is approximately half the average weight of an 8 month old child. This lift encourages the child to use her leg muscles to stand. Once she tries to stands, the AirWalker lifts from the ground with its four legs approximately 4-6 inches above the ground. Child can now learn to balance and gain postural control. She can use her muscles to move forward or sideways. During this process, whenever the child sits on the seat, her weight brings the AirWalker down and it would rest on its four legs.
- Project Duration and Location
- The concept design of the AirWalker started in Jan 2021 and was finalized in Feb 2021.
- Specifications
- Dimensions of AirWalker: width 600mm x height 400mm x depth 600 mm. Suitable for babies 6-14 months old. AirWalker has several safety features thoughtfully integrated in the design that makes it very safe to use. An in-built height sensor ensures that the device does not lift more than 6 inch above the ground (distance of the leg from the ground). Even when the child user is not sitting on AirWalker, it would not hover more than 6 inch above the ground. The height and level sensors keep the AirWalker in horizontal position even when it hovers on an uneven surfaces such as stairs. This makes it very safe for the child.
- Keywords
- Baby Walker, Drone Walker, Kids, Learning to Walk, Baby Walking, Drone
