Dads Develop Sensor/Alert System to Prevent “Car-Alone” Kids

Two Florida men have developed a device to help prevent children from being inadvertently left alone in a vehicle.

Dubbed Sense-A-Life, the patent-pending aftermarket system uses pressure sensors and a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone app to remind motorists to take their children with them as they leave a vehicle. The child sensor requires two pounds of pressure to activate the system.

An initial audio alert automatically sounds when an occupant gets out of the driver’s seat, and secondary alerts are sent to a parent or caretaker’s smartphone if a child hasn’t been removed from his or her seat after a set time limit. The system also can be programmed to send alerts to multiple people.

Invented by Tampa neighbors Jim Friedman, an electrical engineer, and pharmacist Fadi Shamma, the system is designed to be installed in less than 30 seconds and can be transferred between vehicles as needed.

The inventors were inspired by reports about children dying from heat stroke after being locked in a vehicle. More than 40 children died this way last year in the U.S. alone. The pair launched a crowd-sourcing campaign to help fund mass production of their system.

Other companies and organizations—including NASA—have tried to launch similar technologies in recent years without success. A video of the Sense-A-Life system is available here.