A small, inexpensive sensor developed by researchers at Waterloo Engineering could save lives by alerting people when children or pets have been left behind in vehicles.
Just three centimetres in diameter, the sensor – which combines radar technology and artificial intelligence (AI) – would trigger an alarm after detecting an unattended child or animal.
“It addresses a serious, world-wide problem,” said George Shaker, a cross-appointed professor of electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical and mechatronics engineering. “This system is so affordable it could become standard equipment in all vehicles.”
The wireless, disc-shaped sensor was developed with funding from a major automotive parts manufacturer that hopes to bring it to market by the end of next year.
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Graduate students Mostafa Alizadeh, left, and Hajar Abedi position a doll, which has been modified to simulate breathing, in a minivan during testing of a new sensor that detects when children have been left behind in vehicles and triggers an alarm.