Vibration Phenomenon of Infants by Using a Baby Carriers

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we focused on the vibration phenomenon of infants when using baby carriers. Although several safety standards for baby carriers are available, they do not consider the physical burden caused by the vibration phenomenon of infants, which may cause excessive vibration load to infants depending on the conditions of use. The aim of this study was to clarify the vibration phenomenon of infants when using baby carriers. We conducted two measurement experiments: one was a vibration experiment using a vibration exciter and the other was a walking experiment in which participants walked at different speeds using a baby carrier and an infant dummy. In the vibration experiment, regardless of the difference between the infant dummy and baby carrier, the amplitude of acceleration on the shaker and participant, and at each measurement point between the participant and infant dummy, varied less than 0.01 mm at 1–2 Hz, indicating that the baby carrier did not amplify the vibration. However, the acceleration amplitude was amplified when the frequency band became larger than 2 Hz. In the walking experiment, the measured acceleration amplitude peaked at 1.2 Hz at 70 BPM and at 1.5 Hz at 90 BPM, confirming that it was strongly influenced by the walking cycle.