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Volvo’s Radar-Based Occupant Alert System Aims to Extinguish Hot-Car Deaths

adminSeptember 29, 2022

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Volvo’s Radar-Based Occupant Alert System Aims to Extinguish Hot-Car Deaths According to the Department of Transportation, 935 children have been victims of hot car accidents since 1998, and tragedies have become more prevalent in recent years. Agency data shows that more than half of these deaths are caused by a child forgetting in the car, and more than half of the victims are children under the age of two. To address this issue, Volvo has unveiled a new indoor radar system that monitors the entire vehicle to ensure that young children and pets are not left behind.

Volvo’s Radar-Based Occupant Alert System Aims to Extinguish Hot-Car Deaths

The new system uses a series of radar sensors in the overhead console, ceiling-mounted reading lights and the cargo area to detect even small movements throughout the vehicle. While most alert the driver to check the back seat when the engine is switched off, Volvo says the reminder is more effective after, after The driver tries to lock the car. With Volvo, if the driver attempts to lock the car while a child or animal is detected inside, the lock function is disabled and an alert is displayed on the center console display.

Volvo Indoor Radar System | Manufacturer’s photo

Some of the rear occupant alert systems available today use a combination of visual and audible alerts to notify the driver before and after exiting the car, but Volvo is limited to alerting the screen after trying to lock to avoid warning fatigue, according to Volvo spokesman Thomas Schulz.

“The system only alerts when the driver tries to lock the car,” Schultz confirmed in an email to Cars.com. “Alerting people to the presence of occupants when they are likely to need them and avoiding excessive warnings – which can lead to alerts being ignored over time – is a good balance. It is also difficult for a vehicle to distinguish between a driver who intentionally leaves the vehicle for a few moments and a person They really forgot a child or pet while they were out of the car for a longer time.

“We have determined that the best time to alert the driver to occupants is when they lock the vehicle: this is the point at which anyone who leaves a child or pet inadvertently needs to be alerted, but it reduces the risk of ‘warning fatigue’ that may arise from previous warnings.”

Volvo’s Radar-Based Occupant Alert System Aims to Extinguish Hot-Car Deaths

In addition to activating the driver alert, the car’s climate system will remain on when occupants are detected in order to reduce the risk of heat stroke or hypothermia as long as the car battery is sufficiently charged.

Currently, most passenger reminder systems are activated when the rear doors of the vehicle are opened at the beginning of the journey, but they are not actively monitored entire A vehicle for abandoned passengers. Volvo isn’t the first automaker to showcase radar-based technology, however: Hyundai debuted its 2020 Palisade three-row SUV, and Toyota has been testing the cabin awareness concept system in prototypes, though the system isn’t yet available in a prototype production.

Volvo will release an interior radar system as a standard feature on its upcoming all-electric EX90 SUV, which is expected to be revealed on November 9. Future models will also provide the technology, but the automaker hasn’t revealed plans for the rollout.