This LSU-Developed Device Could End Child Hot Car Fatalities

It's a Louisiana statistic that everyone can agree is unacceptable and must be corrected.

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According to the website, ksbrlaw.com, "Louisiana leads the nation in the most child deaths from being left in vehicles. In the last 26 years, 36 children in Louisiana have died from heat stroke after being in a hot car."

I can't even begin to fathom the pain that a parent would experience after having lost a child, especially if it was due to their forgetting the child was in their car.  It would be a near-intolerable burden.

But, maybe that situation will soon never rear its ugly head again.  At least, that's the mission of three very concerned LSU students who have dedicated their time and brain power to an incredible invention.

In an article from lsu.edu we read about these three LSU engineering students, Victoria Irondi of Baltimore, Maryland, Nnamdi Dike of Lagos, Nigeria, and Trevor Perrault of New Roads, Louisiana, who have designed a smart alert system that could help stop these preventable deaths.

Irondi told lsu.edu, “Our project is a smart infant car seat alert system that uses weight and proximity sensors to detect when a child is left unattended in a car. If the caregiver moves too far away while the child is still present, the system sounds an alarm and sends a Bluetooth alert to a separate fob device, with the option to expand into additional notifications."

In a separate article from lsureveille.com writes, Dike, Irondi and Perrault are hoping to get their device on the market and help saves babies.

Recognizing the potential of this incredible breakthrough technology, just last week these three were honored by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission and the Louisiana Passenger Safety Task Force at the annual Child Passenger Safety Conference in Baton Rouge.

Of the device, one of the creators, Trevor Perrault of Louisiana said, "We’re proud to have created something that honors the families affected by this issue, and we are excited about the potential impact this device can have in making vehicles safer for children."

Personally, I can't wait until this device is available and can't imagine anything more useful to parents of infants and toddlers.

Kudos students! We are very impressed!