Cutting-edge technology in a new Mercedes car will help reduce the potentially deadly risk of children staying indoors.
The Child Presence Detection (CPD) system uses sensors to detect anyone breathing in the cabin and is designed to prevent drivers from forgetting their child, which can be particularly dangerous in hot weather.
The technology in the upcoming CLA coupe detects a child in the car through their distinctive breathing pattern, while cameras check whether an adult is present. The sensors are so sensitive that they can even pick up a sleeping newborn baby.
The system provides a reminder when the car is turned off. If the driver leaves and locks the car with a child still inside, alerts are sent to the owner’s smartphone.
If the temperature in the cabin exceeds a critical point, the air conditioning switches on and the car’s horn and lights are activated to warn passers-by. If the child remains in the car, the Mercedes SOS call center is alerted and the emergency services are alerted.
The system could be useful for forgetful parents such as former Prime Minister David Cameron, who once left eight-year-old daughter Nancy in a pub for 15 minutes in 2012.
The new Merdedes CLA Class coupe detects a child in the car through their characteristic breathing pattern
The system provides a reminder when the car is turned off. If the driver leaves and locks the car with a child still inside, alerts are sent to the owner’s smartphone
The interior of a parked car can heat up by 10 degrees Celsius in ten minutes. When the body reaches a core temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, heat stroke occurs, which can be fatal. Children’s bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults’.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: ‘Radio technology detects breathing patterns of living things. This happens regardless of whether they are people or animals. However, our focus is on recognizing children from zero to six years old who have difficulty helping themselves in critical situations.’
According to meteorologist Jan Null of San Jose State University, an average of 37 children under the age of 15 die from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle in the US. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said no statistics were available for Britain.
Last month, a one-year-old child in Florida died after sitting in a hot car all day when his father forgot to take him to daycare after an appointment. When the man went to pick up his son, he was told he had not dropped him off. The boy was then found dead in the car.