Aisin – a Tier 1 automotive supplier – and Vayyar – a 4D imaging radar business – have formed a partnership to develop and deploy an advanced sensor solution to prevent children from dying from heatstroke in school buses in Japan if left behind.
The solution is being developed in response to emergency legislation set out by the Japanese government following a three-year-old child passing away after spending more than five hours alone on a hot bus in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan in September 2022. The technology, known as child presence detection (CPD), will now be required by all buses serving kindergartens, nursery schools, hybrid facilities, special needs schools and day care centers for children with disabilities.
Through the partnership, Aisin will deploy sensors based on Vayyar’s radar-on-chip in buses as part of the government program. The radar sensors work in all light conditions while avoiding privacy issues and are sensitive enough to detect every child even if they are on the floor of the bus.
“Vehicular heatstroke has claimed the lives of thousands of children around the world and the time for concerted global action has arrived,” said Tomo Taguchi, president of Vayyar Japan. “We are honored to play a part in that effort, alongside our trusted partners at Aisin.”
“Aisin’s strong partnership with Vayyar is central to our in-cabin strategy for the passenger vehicle domain, as we seek to protect every life on the road,” said Shunsuke Hayakawa, project general manager at Aisin. “Child presence detection on kindergarten buses is essential and urgent and requires the industry-leading technology that we are currently industrializing.”
The duo’s in-cabin platform is currently being evaluated by automotive OEMs for use within additional safety features, such as seat belt reminders and airbag suppression.
For more child presence detection news, click here.