A cradle with a resonant, high efficiency mechanism for swinging (oscillating) the cradle with multiple swinging styles is described. Vertical and horizontal swinging are enabled with a single actuation mechanism. In an embodiment, the actuation mechanism consists of a motor with an eccentric load and a motor control system that can control the angular velocity and/or angular position of the motor. Use of the eccentric load enables actuation in the vertical and horizontal directions with the single actuation mechanism. For motion feedback, the control system uses a motion sensor. A spring system is used as the potential energy storage element for vertical resonant oscillations. For horizontal oscillations, the system acts like a pendulum and the potential energy due to gravity is used for energy storage. The spring system is designed to ensure that with change in mass of the baby, minimal change in oscillation frequency occurs.
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