Abstract
Motor vehicle injuries are a leading cause of severe injury and death. There is a need for safety systems that encourage drivers to operate vehicles in a safer manner around vehicles carrying children and other vulnerable populations, such as older adults and the disabled.
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University have developed an automated automotive safety system which both alerts adjacent drivers to the presence of vulnerable occupants in the vehicle while also alerting the driver to external unsafe driving conditions and driving behaviors. External sensors report on speed, distance and driving patterns of adjacent vehicles, as well as road and weather conditions. The system notifies the driver of changes in weather and road conditions, to changes in driving behavior of adjacent vehicles, and when an adjacent vehicle exceeds a speed threshold or the distance between the vehicle and the adjacent vehicle falls below a minimum separation distance. Digital panels located on the back and side windows of the vehicle display phrases such as "Baby on Board". If the system detects unsafe driving conditions, the display will change to red, then flashing red to warn adjacent drivers.
FAU is seeking partners to advance this technology into the marketplace through development partnerships.
Benefit
Automatically detects and reports the presence of an occupant in the vehicleAutomatically recognizes vulnerable occupants such as infants, children or older adultsAutomatically detects and reports external driving conditions and unsafe driving behavior of adjacent vehiclesMarket Application
Automotive
Brochure
