THE AUTO GUARDIAN SOLUTION.
Somewhere in the world, a child will die today as a result of being left in a car that became too hot causing the child unimaginable suffering; then a painful death from heat stroke.
Somewhere on the planet, it is summer and children, whether in Europe, Australia, Brazil, Africa, SE Asia, USA or India will meet this fate. Without swift intervention, babies, small children, disabled, frail elderly and beloved family pets will suffer and die needlessly.
These simple facts were the driving force behind our 3-year journey to find a viable solution to stop needless hot car tragedies. We sought – and found -- a solution that took human error out of the equation. An autonomous solution built into the auto, like the air bag collision system.
The mandate with which the team charged itself was several-fold:
• The solution had to save life;
• The solution had to be independent of any human interaction for activation and daily operation.
• The solution had to be easy to incorporate into existing vehicle native systems;
• The solution had to be cost-effective, if not cost-negative for vehicle manufacturers
• The solution had to be risk-free to auto manufacturers
The work began in July 2014 and has evolved to a simple, intelligent system that meets and exceeds all of the above objectives. As is often said, the simplest solution is usually the best.
All prior patents searched offered passive alarms and myriad devices as a means of intervention; however, none provided the pro-active component that was able to save a life. This system does that.
At the most critical levels, when the person (or animal) inside the vehicle is in danger of dying, a number of independent actions commence automatically, to sustain life while at the same time alerts are dispatched to persons known to the victim; to 911 fire-rescue personnel and to close-by persons on the street who can provide the most immediate assistance.
It must be noted again, that no human is required to set an alarm when entering the vehicle at the beginning of the journey, nor at the end of the journey, when the vehicle’s engine was shut off. The one and only time that human involvement is required is at the point of purchase of the vehicle.
Economics
No manufacturer of passenger vehicles wants to add costs. Millions – billions – of dollars are spent annually in this industry to improve performance and safety.
The level of sophistication, even within the most economical vehicles is apparent through the NHTSA records and statistics which show accidents and other safety issues decreasing as technology is further refined. That technology, already extant is called upon to be a sentinel for one more important task: saving the life of a helpless person trapped inside a vehicle.
When prompted, using sensor data, automotive intelligence is there and ready to go into action – extreme action – in a sequence of ever-increasing urgent, but automatic measures that rescue the trapped infant, child, non-abled person or animal.
It is safe to say that manufacturers, now under intense pressure to solve this problem of death by asphyxiation or heat stroke, are seeking solutions that are both cost-effective and dependable.
Systems offered to them, so far, have been either too cumbersome (and expensive) or are after-market products left to the discretion of the public: persons who make a decision to purchase something so as to ensure their own child’s safety from this awful fate.
These are only as good as the person who remembers to activate the system.
The pro-active system invented by this team meets the goals for which the auto industry is searching. This silent sentinel, hopefully, will never be called upon to save a life, yet it is fully-operational at all times if and will respond precisely if needed.. This system is ready for activation.
Should another hot summer come and go; should one more child suffer and die because no solution has been incorporated into passenger vehicles?
