Alarm detects children left in hot cars

Mustafa Al Zoubi, Gulf Today

The potentially life-saving innovation is an alarm in the 2022 Genesis GV70 that, according to the manufacturer, sounds as quickly as 10 seconds.

Hidden inside the roof above the back seat is a radar that Genesis says can detect a child even if the only movement is a soft breath.

This year, 17 children have already died after being left in hot cars. Since 1990, more than a thousand children have lost their lives. But the new technology on the market is aiming to prevent these tragedies.

Dr. Emily Thomas, an automotive safety engineer with Consumer Reports, showed ABC News how the child detection system works with her own 4-year-old son, Micah.

She instructed her son Micah to stay as still as he could in his car seat, started the car as if driving away and then turned it off as if she's reached her destination. She then got out of the vehicle, closed the door and locked it.

Even with Micah staying still and wearing a mask, the alarm went off in 20 seconds.

The system will also send the driver a notification on their phone if they have the Genesis app downloaded.

The infrastructure bill before Congress would make hot car alert systems mandatory in all new cars.