As summer temperatures soar, so does the risk of hot-car deaths among kids. But some emerging technology that can detect heartbeats may be able to prevent those tragedies.
The danger is real. According to the website , 12 children have died in hot cars so far in 2022. Over 1,000 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990.
The concept, called , is being developed by Toyota and works by using radar to detect a heartbeat or other 鈥渕icro movements鈥� inside the vehicle. If a heart rate is picked up in a vehicle that is supposed to be unoccupied, notifications would go out.
鈥淭he first level of escalations could potentially be calling grandma, calling the neighbor,鈥� said Brian Kursar, chief data and technology officer for Toyota Motor North America. “Or let鈥檚 say, for instance, your smart home lights could start blinking on and off.鈥�
Nearby cars could be alerted and, of course, first responders could be notified as well.
Kursar said they鈥檙e still working on the system鈥檚 reliability to avoid false positives. For example, a person leaning against a car, or water vibrating within a cup inside, could potentially set off an alert.
Still, Kursar said Toyota鈥檚 radar-based system represents an improvement over camera- or weight-sensor based systems that come with their own drawbacks.
He adds that it鈥檚 possible that this new tech could debut in production vehicles in the coming years.
“We feel confident that we’re going to be able to put something like this on the market soon,鈥� Kursar said.
The goal, he said, is for the system to cost less than $100 per vehicle. It could also work to prevent some pet deaths.
