At the moment, things are going so badly with getting the cars to become self-driving. That hasn’t stopped a Canadian startup from now launching a “self-driving” stroller.

The company Glüxkind Technologies was recently awarded an honorable mention for the Ella stroller at the consumer electronics fair CES in Las Vegas. Admittedly, hundreds of other companies also received it.

Electric motors on the rear wheels provide assistance on uphills and uneven terrain. The motors can also brake the cart downhill. The battery is said to last for eight hours and takes four hours to charge.

A catch

In addition to electrification, the stroller also has self-driving functions. Sensors and electronics ensure that the stroller stops on, for example, a downhill slope if there is no parent directly behind.

But there is a pretty big catch. It is not possible to use the pushchair’s self-driving functions when the child is sitting in it, which is ensured by a weight sensor. This begs the question of what the point really is. According to Glüxkind, there may be times when a baby demands to be carried or a child wants to walk along, and the parent is then served by a stroller that rolls on its own to keep both hands free.

On the price tag it says 3,800 dollars, corresponding to roughly 39,000 kroner. Deliveries are expected to start later this year.