Every summer, small children die when left unintentionally in cars parked in the hot sun. Pets do, too. Now, American and European regulators are requiring child presence detection systems in cars. In 2022 EuroNCAP will begin awarding points toward vehicle star ratings for systems which can detect a child left alone in a car and alert the vehicle owner.
Some automakers already offer systems along this line. GM started offering their ” Rear Seat Reminder” in the 2017-model GMC Acadia, then put it in a variety of other models soon after. It monitors the vehicle’s rear doors if either rear door is opened and closed up to 10 minutes before the vehicle is started or while the vehicle is running, then five chimes sound and a message is displayed that reads “Rear Seat Reminder • Look in Rear Seat” the next time the vehicle is turned off. Nissan call their system Rear Door Alert. They introduced it in 2017, and plan to add it on all four-door models by the 2022 model year. Aside from a message on the instrument panel, Rear Door Alert honks the horn. And Hyundai have an optional “Rear Occupant Alert” newly available on the 2019 Santa Fe and 2020 Palisade, which uses door logic like GM and Nissan, and adds ultrasonic sensors in the vehicle’s headliner to detect movement in the rear seats.
Vayyar are among the vehicle technology suppliers working on child presence systems, as well as other forms of driver and occupant monitoring. Such features were already attracting interest from consumers as vehicles take on more autonomy, but the prospect of new regulations requiring this kind of technology is speeding up detection system development.
In the mushrooming Israeli auto technology sector, even more sophisticated systems are now in development. Instead of relying on door sensors, newer approaches incorporate visual or radar-type sensors, located in the vehicle headliner, that can discern the presence of a person in the back seat by detecting a heartbeat.
