The kids of today will be the adults of tomorrow, and the experiences they have will shape their skills and behavior in the world they grow up to inhabit. Keeping this in mind, designer Cindy Kwok of Husky Design created an e-scooter designed to help children get accustomed to learning how to ride both standing as well as sitting-style scooters. Tiny toy electric cars are a dime a dozen, but this electric scooter is more than just a toy… it’s the child’s first proper vehicle with its own accelerator, headlight, horn, and a hybrid design that alternates between sitting and standing positions.
Designer: Cindy Kwok (Husky Design)
The scooter’s 2-in-1 design makes it a compelling vehicle for kids, giving them both the ‘scooter’ experiences. In the seated mode, the main stem folds downwards and becomes a seat, while the handlebars plug directly into the front fairing above the headlight. To use the scooter in standing mode, detach the handlebars and lift the seat up. Once the seat is fixed in its vertical position, clamp the handlebars on top to give you a standing scooter that’s much more akin to the last-mile e-scooters we see in urban setups today. The three-wheeled ride makes it more of a trike than a scooter, but it helps children maintain their stability without having them learn how to balance the way they would on a bicycle – something reserved for older kids after they grow up.
The e-scooter comes outfitted with a rear-wheel motor that’s activated through a big pedal switch on the back of the e-scooter. A ‘Go’ button on the front of the platform helps control acceleration (letting go brakes the scooter), and the handlebars offer a steer-by-wire functionality, allowing them to be plugged directly in the sitting mode or indirectly in the standing mode. The handlebars also have dedicated buttons to toggle the headlight or sound the e-scooter’s horn, helping children pick up the right on-road practices.
While this e-scooter is currently just a concept, one imagines that its top-speed mustn’t be rather high. Like most toy vehicles, the e-scooter is a slow-steady toy that has real-world features and details that allow the child to learn proper riding techniques and on-road etiquette through playtime.