Year
2024
Duration
4 Months
Client
N/A
Field
Soft Goods Design, Design for Mobility, IoT
Software Used
Pregnant women face higher risks in car accidents, with standard seat belts often causing discomfort or dangerous abdominal pressure. Belta addresses this problem by stabilizing the lap belt in the correct position and integrating sensors to reduce impact, improve safety, and support comfort while driving.
Stabilizing
Stabilizing seat belt by positioning lap belt between different thickness fabrics.
Ease of Use
IR sensor to detect the distance between steering wheel to the pregnant belly.
Notice
Noticing vibrator placing on the lap to prevent abdominal discomfort.
D Ring
D rings allows band to be changed to suit for all widths of pregnancy.
University of Michigan states that each year in the U.S., 170,000 pregnant women are in some type of accident of which 68% report being injured. There are an estimated 3,000 pregnancies lost every year because of car crashes.
Redelmeier states in the report that the rate of car accidents jumped by 77% in the stage of pregnancy. Car accident rates drop sharply in the third trimester when the baby is born.
Common pregnancy-related factors can contribute to human error while driving. Impaired concentration, commonly referred to as “baby brain,” appears frequently during pregnancy due to occasional sleep disruption.
Nausea
Fatigue
Distraction
Among all vehicle crashes involving pregnant women, 77% of them were not wearing seat belts . 53% reported that the belt was uncomfortable.
Studies have shown that proper seat belts significantly reduce fetal fatalities in minor and moderate car crashes.
Seat belts could also cause a fetus fatal in a severe car accident. In some cases, women have had lacerations in their uterus when they experienced a crash (even minor crash is possible), not directly under the waistband, but behind the uterus. This is because of an indirect load on the belt where the force was transmitted from the other side. Severe tearing of the uterus can lead to placental abruption.
The adjuster transfers the force acting on the abdomen to the thigh.
Jennifer Saxton, a certified children safety technician, criticized the fragility of this product since it is simply made of plastic, and the adjuster also changes the shape of the seat belt.
Plastic adjuster breaks during car crash
The adjuster add excess slack into the safety belt
Disabled the function of the seat belt
Significant movement of the body
Detecting and notifying user's distance between the steering wheel and their belly
Reduce the impact of the seat belt on the abdomen.
Prevent seat belt from slide into incorrect position
Technology
Infrared Distance Sensor
Detects Distance Less than 10 Inches
Vibration Warning
Finalized Concept
Stabilising seat belt position by positioning the lap belt between different thickness fabrics.
Early Design Concepts & Prototypes
Pattern Making
Electronic Assembly
Assembly
Binding and Finishing
-Overall comfort is very good and the contact with the belly feels intimate;
-The band used to hold the device in place feels distorted and does not fit the body well.
