In early childhood development, interaction with and stimulation by the environment is critical in normal cognitive development. However, children with disabilities, like those who were born prematurely, with cerebral palsy, or some cases of autism, may have difficulties interacting with their environment, simply because they are not physically capable of doing so. These children may lack upper body strength and sufficient muscle tone to move their heads in response to stimuli or gain motility at the same rate as in normal development. This lack of stimulation has been linked to later, more severe mental impairments that may have been otherwise avoidable. Avoiding these complications may be done through the use of a mobility device suited for much smaller children, typically under the age of five.

Currently, there are very few options of devices that are cheap and widely applicable to many different children. Often these devices are tailored to the individual and very costly, thus rendering them inaccessible to some families and leaving children without alternatives.  Therefore, there is a need to allow children an accessible way to interact with their environment in a safe and controlled manner that may help them to develop more normally. Further, this device should be applicable to a wider range of children such that it might be easily adjusted by the parents and caregivers, allowing the children to interact more independently in their environment. Using the device should be simple and the children should be able to get in and out of it with ease, as well as have adjustability built in to aid in its ease of use as well as keep up with the growth of the child.

Previous prototypes have used toy cars with modifications built on to allow for customizability and increased mobility for the children. These current devices use augmented steering and acceleration to account for low muscle tone in the arms and legs. There are also currently controls that ensure the safety of the child. However, these current prototypes have yet to account for increasing adjustability of the seat position and accounting for the device as used in multiple settings (clinic, home, etc). Our design will take these factors into account and allow not only for increased adjustability of the device but also augmentations to the current acceleration and steering systems such that they may be more efficacious for the children in exploring their environment. Safety is also an important concern and ensuring that the child may operate the car independently must be balanced with making sure they are not posing any risks to their health.