Sensor Technology to Save Children from Hot-Car Deaths - July 31st, 2007
We’ve written before about heat dangers to children in cars. The statistics are frightening:
- From 1998 to 2006, 324 children have died in heat related accidents inside cars.
- Regardless of the outside temperature, the interior temperature rises approximately 40 degrees an hour.
- Eighty percent of the total heating occurs in the first half hour.
- Children’s bodies do not regulate core temperature as well as those of adults making them much more susceptible to heat stroke.
Now, technology could be headed toward the market to alert parents that a child has been left in the backseat of the car.
Three products already available or soon to be available include:
- The Child Minder system, a clip for the child’s harness that is synchronized with an alarm on a key ring.
- The Child Presence Sensor, developed by NASA, that works as a proximity sensor should the parent move too far from the car.
- Volvo’s Personal Car Communicator that can detect a heartbeat inside the car and send a warning to the wireless key fob.
After all, if your car reminds you to put on your seat belt, shouldn’t it help you look after your child as well?
Posted on July 31st, 2007 by Shorty
Filed under: technology, lifestyle |
