Mechanical engineering students at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) develop a retractable harness for child car seats for their senior capstone project. A retractable harness was designed by Torie Gilland, of Osgood, Ind., and Casey Cooley, of Hope, Ind., that allows the harness to pull easily out of the slots, and securely fit around the child. Any remaining loose tension from the harness is securely retracted back inside the car seat.
The mechanical engineering senior capstone design course at IUPUC requires teams of two to three students to complete a design project from conception through to a developed working prototype. To complete a successful project, students need to utilize a broad range of engineering skills and knowledge, developed during their engineering studies. In addition to faculty mentoring, many teams develop relationships with engineers from industry, which helps bring a “real world” perspective to their projects.
“The project chosen by Gilland and Cooley exemplified the goals of the course,” shares Bud Kincaid, lecturer in mechanical engineering. “They identified a significant need - child safety - and one the team felt passionate about. The originality of their concept was verified by researching relevant literature and patents. The project stretched their creative and design skills. Gilland and Cooley demonstrated terrific drive in getting a very challenging project designed, developed, and a working prototype produced.”
In researching literature, the team discovered the most common type of error in car seat usage are loose attachments to vehicle seats and loose harness straps. Although child safety seats reduce deaths and injuries, for many people they can be difficult to install and commonly are misused. A 2011 study of 4,000 vehicles by NHTSA revealed that over 46 percent or more of children riding in vehicles, the child safety seats were improperly installed, and in the event of a crash the child’s protection was compromised.
Gilland explains that her idea for the retractable harness developed while riding in a vehicle with her niece, in a child car seat with a loose harness, and another child, in a booster seat using a seat belt. “I knew my niece’s harness was too loose; I also knew her caretaker who put her in her car seat had every good intention of strapping her safely in her child car seat. That is when I came up with an idea to eliminate the ‘guess work’ for caretakers and design a harness that retracts back on the child to correct unnecessary slack.”
The team had already started work on another project but scrapped the idea to pursue the retractable harness. “When I thought of this retractable harness idea, I knew I had to pursue it not only for my personal gain and interest but also with hopes of saving the lives of precious children,” shares Gilland.
Gilland is currently working as an intern mechanical engineer at GECOM Corporation in Greensburg, Indiana. After her May graduation from IUPUC, she will transition from intern to an employee for GECOM as a Production Engineer.
Cooley plans to pursue a career in engineering after her May graduation from IUPUC. Cooley shares, “Really, I am just hoping to begin a career that will help me gain many different types of experiences within the engineering field.”
For information about mechanical engineering at IUPUC, visit iupuc.edu/mechanical-engineering or call 812.348.7390.