Can Auto Industry Resolve Hot Car Issue?

The future of mobility will have a great focus on safety. Yet there has been very little said about eliminating the fatalities caused by vehicular heatstroke. These accidents occur in driveways, office parking lots and anywhere else cars are left unattended. And they impact the most vulnerable individuals: children.

According to the Department of Meteorology & Climate Science at San Jose State University, temperatures in a closed car rise by 19 degrees in just 10 minutes. Temperatures increase by 34 degrees in 30 minutes and 43 degrees within one hour.

Children are especially susceptible to in-car temperatures. They absorb heat more easily and their temperature increases at a faster rate than adults. To make matters worse, children are not able to cool off as quickly. Consequently, they are much more likely to be harmed while sitting in a hot vehicle.

Many parents don’t believe they could ever leave their children behind, but it can happen to anyone. Even the most diligent moms and dads are capable of forgetting their kids are in tow. Doctors have found that when parents deviate from their routine (for example, if dad takes the kids to day care and makes an unusual stop to get coffee), they might go into autopilot. The parent may then forget to stop at day care on his way to work and inadvertently leave a quiet baby or child sleeping in the back seat.

More than 830 children have been killed by vehicular heatstroke since 1990, with an average of 37 fatalities occurring every year. According to the National Safety Council, there were 42 hot car deaths in 2017.

Parents are divided on how to deal with this ongoing tragedy. Some are trying to build awareness to prevent future accidents. Others have called for legislation that would require new vehicles to display visual and audio alerts when a child is left in the back seat. The latter is gaining traction through the HOT CARS (Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seats) Act, with similar bills introduced in both the House and Senate.

But what good is legislation without technology that is actually capable of saving lives? In 2012 the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. warned parents that safety devices, designed to sound an alarm when a child remains in the car, were not consistent or reliable.

Many other devices have been developed since then, including those that monitor a vehicle’s in-car temperature but they require consumers to purchase, install and maintain the product. Consequently, they are not ubiquitous and cannot be relied upon as the sole solution to hot car deaths.

Some automakers have begun to implement safety features that honk and/or chirp at drivers if a rear passenger remains seated. The alerts (which include notifications on the instrument panel) only take effect if a door is opened and closed before a trip, but not re-opened after. Like any alert system, consumers may get annoyed and ignore the sounds and visual cues after experiencing false positives.

Rear door alerts are just the tip of the iceberg, however. There are other technologies, namely sensors that scan and track occupants and objects anywhere in the vehicle. The sensor identifies the location and physical dimensions of everyone in the car, distinguishing people from objects. By detecting micro vibrations, the system can register, in some cases, a presence even without a direct line of sight. When combined with optical micro-to-macro motion analysis, it would be possible to detect even the slightest movements and smallest heartbeats. That way, when a parent exits without his or her child, the vehicle would definitively know if someone was left behind.

That knowledge is extremely valuable when the car is able to do something about it. In addition to alarms and dashboard notifications, the vehicle, working with the sensors, could automatically turn on the air conditioning and send a call for help if anyone is trapped inside. This would ensure that the occupants are kept at a healthy temperature until a parent or emergency medical responder arrives.

Looking ahead to a future in which vehicles drive themselves, it will be essential for cars to take care of their passengers. By using technology to gain new insight into who's riding and where they're seated, automobiles will be better equipped to assist their occupants in dangerous situations. And as they become smarter and more advanced in deciphering the world around them, it is equally important that they become fully aware of the people inside the cabin, creating a safer experience for everyone.

Gil Dotan (pictured above) is CEO and co-founder of Guardian Optical Technologies, which manufactures advanced sensor technology.