Tesla help prevent children from being left in hot cars
Tesla submitted the US authorities a request for a new motion-sensing device; every year, hundreds of children die from heatstroke in cars.
Recently, the California automaker submitted Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a request for approval to market a short-range interactive motion-sensing device that could help prevent children from being left behind in hot cars and boost theft-prevention systems.
Tesla Inc wants permission to use unlicensed millimeter-wave sensors that would operate at higher power levels than allowed under existing rules. This device would use four transmit and three receive antennas driven by a radar front-end unit. Tesla says millimeter wave radar technology has advantages over other sensing systems like camera-based or in-seat occupant detection systems. According to Tesla, “the radar-based system provides depth perception and can see through soft materials. It can differentiate between a child and an object left on the seat, reducing the likelihood of false alarms.”
Tesla vehicles has already added such a feature as early as 2016, with a software to help deal with at least some of these problems. But now this device has been improved and upgraded. Tesla’s temperature-control function automatically keep the temperature below 40˚ centigrade inside the car by automatically opening vents or turning on the air conditioner as needed. “The feature remains on for up to 12 hours after the driver exits the vehicle”, a Tesla spokesman said.
Children dying from heatstroke in cars, either because they were left or became trapped, has increased in recent years and worldwide a couple of hundreds die. Nearly 75% of children who are forgotten and die are under 2 years old. In US The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says more than 50 children died when left behind in hot cars in both 2019 and 2018. Of those incidents, 54% occurred because someone forgot a child.
