The Smart e-Saver
Author(s): Chung
Slidedeck Presentation Only:
Abtract:
Background/Context: “Two-year-old girl dies after being left inside car for four hours by careless mother” was what came across my eyes when reading from a local newspaper – The Star Online.[1] This incident is commonly known as hot car deaths or Forgotten Baby Syndrome (FBS). It refers to accidentally leaving a baby or young child in a locked car, often with tragic results due to heatstroke. At first, I thought it was just an individual case. However, research revealed that from 1998 to 2002, the average number was 29 children heatstroke fatalities per year in the USA. In 2003, this number increased to 42 and was 35 in 2004.[2] The number peaked in 2010 with 49 deaths and 791 children have died due to pediatric vehicular heatstroke from 1998 to present. All of these deaths could have been prevented, according to statistics from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), USA.[3][4]
Aims/Objectives: Moved by the news articles and the significant number of infant deaths cases, I feel motivated to find a solution and design a working prototype what I call the “Smart e-Saver” to prevent and reduce baby deaths in vehicles due to heat stroke or suffocation caused by FBS.
Methods/Targets: This device consists of embedded system[1] with coding, sensors and transmission chips. Firstly, for the system to be activated, the car engine must be switched off, indicating that the driver is about to leave the car. For the detection of a baby, two out of three sensors, namely infrared temperature sensor, pressure sensor and PIR motion sensor must be triggered. A buzzer will sound to remind the parents or whoever is in the car that the baby is present. If the child is still unattended after five minutes, the device will send a message to alert the driver and family of the child via mobile phone, indicating there is a baby present in the car. The car alarm will be triggered to attract attention in 10 minutes. If there is still no response within 15 minutes, the device will send the Global Positioning System (GPS) location and the car plate number to the emergency services such as police to take further action.
Results/Activities: Three sensors namely infrared temperature sensor, pressure sensor and PIR motion sensor were attached on a self-built cardboard baby safety seat (Fig. 1) for the detection
of a baby. The detected signals were then transmitted via Bluetooth or GSM to the
embedded system for processing as shown in the circuit diagram (Fig. 2). The
notification content was displayed on the mobile phone (Fig. 3).
Discussion/Deliverables: The advantages of “The Smart e-Saver” can be seen in several aspects. Firstly, the device is attached to the baby safety seat or integrated into the car which means there is
no add-on device. Secondly, there are three sensors and in order for the system to be
activated, two out of three have to be triggered. As a result, there is no false positive.
Thirdly, there are four stages of fail-safe prevention, namely buzzer warning, alert
notice via mobile phone, car alarm and emergency services notification. The impact of
this solution will reduce the injuries and deaths caused by FBS or Hot Car Deaths.
Furthermore, this innovative device is simple, easy to use, cost reduced (see below) and
it is affordable for all to prevent these preventable tragic cases and deaths caused by
FBS. The design merely came from my idea of trying to help prevent FBS, to
demonstrate and share my enthusiasm in innovation. This working prototype consists
of embedded system (approx. $30 CAD), system coding (self-written), sensors plus
transmission chips (approx. $50 CAD) and mobile phone (existing device). However,
this device has not been tested, evaluated or used in Malaysia jurisdiction as more work
on installation methods and liability insurance issue need to be studied before it can be
fully implemented on either baby safety seat or integrated into real production as part
of vehicles. Therefore, the next step for the project is to collaborate with related
manufacturers for further evaluation and implementation.