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University of Alabama Engineers Develop Solution to Child Heat Deaths in Cars
An average of 37 children die each year in the United States from being trapped inside a hot car, and engineering researchers at the University of Alabama have crafted a solution to prevent these tragic accidents.
A patent-pending device can alert a cellphone when a human or animal is inside a parked vehicle getting too hot. It was developed by UA students from a concept devised by Dr. Timothy A. Haskew, department head and UA professor of electrical and computer engineering.
The device monitors carbon dioxide levels from human breath inside a vehicle along with temperature and car movement, using computer algorithms to determine when to alert a cellphone.
“Kids are dying every year, and one is too many,” Haskew said. “This is a technology that could save lives right now.”