CES 2018: New sensor technology could prevent 'hot car' infant deaths

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Israeli based, Guardian Optimal Technologies, debuts car sensor to prevent hot car infant fatalities at CES 2018 (Credit: FOXNews.com)

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(FOX News) -- The theme of passenger-aware vehicles is taking the Consumer Electronics Show, underway this week in Las Vegas, by storm. As technology evolves to have the passenger and the car totally in sync, one Israeli company has developed a sensor that can detect even the slightest movement from a human or object anywhere in the vehicle.

This could be a major step in offering solutions to the heartbreaking problem of hot car infant fatalities. Last year alone, there were 42 deaths of children who were left in hot vehicles. Such a sensor could prevent these tragedies.

“Guardian Optical Technologies’ sensor provides all the necessary information regarding the occupants, the number of occupants, where do they sit, what is their physical size, and what is their posture even,” says Gil Dotan, CEO and creator of the sensor.

Dotan and his team want the sensor in cars by 2020 and he says that is ambitious, but there are so many future applications for the data the sensor collects, including triggering the start of the air conditioning, initiating alarms to sound, or alerting help with a call being sent out to family members.

“If this is indeed a dangerous scenario, you can prevent the driver from locking the vehicle, start the horn, you can call the police or call a caregiver…the car can do that autonomously,” says Dotan. He added, “It’s a tragic scenario and no one really wants to be in that position.”