The BABY IN-VEHICLE monitor is designed to make sure a baby is never left in a vehicle again. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the temperature within a vehicle on a 78oF day can climb to 100oF in just 3 minutes, and as high as 125oF in less than 8 minutes. A child’s body temperature can rise 5 times faster than that of an adult.

In the U.S. alone since 1998, there have been more than 600 accidental deaths due to heat stroke from guardians leaving a child in a vehicle. According to statistics, there is little correlation between age, gender, income of a caregiver. It is imperative that some type of monitoring method be used to eliminate this tragedy!

In the past, technology had limitations due to inconsistencies in arming, variations in warning signal distance, susceptibility to liquid spillage, disarming of the device to the position of the child, and difficulty in the set-up and use of the devices. The proposed design will determine that a baby is present in the vehicle and track the relative distance between the nearest guardian and the baby. In addition, the system will determine that both buckles are securely fastened and that the baby’s temperature is reasonable.

The components of the system include:
* A restraint harness, with circuits that determine if the buckles are latched or open.
* Baby temperature sensor located within the seat
* An optional force sensor
* Ambient temperature sensor at the top of the child seat
* GPS receiver
* GPS transmitter
* Microprocessor and associated electronics with a water and shock resistant enclosure

The baby temperature sensor would determine that a child is present within the seat and act as the primary arming device. Once the system is armed, the system will monitor the baby’s temperature, ambient temperature conditions, integrity of the harness system, and the relative distance between the baby and the nearest guardian.

The system will receive GPS coordinates from each of the guardians that are included in the APP, which would be pre-defined and downloadable. The processor will calculate the relative distance between the guardian/guardians traveling with the baby and the baby. If the nearest guardian is more that ‘x’ feet from the vehicle and continuing to increase the distance from the baby, then the transmitter will send a message to all of the guardians indicating that the baby was left in the vehicle. By sending a warning to all of the guardians, any guardian can act to rescue the baby.

The system will provide the following messages;
* BABY IN VEHICLE
* Harness buckle fastening integrity
* Ambient temperature around the baby
* Battery charge state
* Baby’s GPS coordinates

The goal is to provide a system that can be easily added to the baby seat and an application that requires only that each guardian download the APP and connect to the baby’s transmitter.