IEE Press Release: Child Seat Presence and Orientation Detection
For the kids’ protection Child Seat Presence and Orientation systems The importance of the airbag as a contribution to car occupant safety cannot be underestimated. Statistics show that fatalities have been reduced by as much as 30 percent since their introduction. Portable child safety seats have also played a significant role in reducing death and injury among infants. But, used in conjunction, the airbag and child seat can pose a potentially lethal danger. An innovative system, Child Seat Presence and Orientation Detection (CPOD) can eliminate that danger. There is not much that beats the joy of becoming a parent. A wave of euphoria coupled with a huge sigh of relief that everything has gone smoothly accompanies the birth of a child, especially for first time parents. But, let’s be honest, that initial happiness can soon subdued by a sense of almost constant worry. Will I be a good parent? Am I feeding the child properly? Perhaps most importantly, have I done everything to ensure it will be safe? Modern parents face a plethora of child-safety product choices. Chief among them, for most parents, is the type of portable child seat or baby cradle they will use in their private vehicle. But it is not only the child seat that should meet all sorts of safety standards. The vehicle, too, should be fitted with the best equipment money can buy to ensure the child is protected. In many cases, parents also face another problem. Where to place the child seat? Often one parent will be driving alone with the child, and will naturally want to keep an eye on the little one. So the front passenger seat is the logical place for the child seat. For parents who drive compact cars with no rear passenger doors, this is also the case. And families with four children can face a similar dilemma. The problem with placing the child seat in the front of the car is that most modern vehicles are fitted with passenger airbags as standard. And a rear facing child seat poses a potentially lethal danger when coupled with an activated airbag. Indeed, there have been several reported cases of child fatalities caused by the passenger seat airbag. There are, of course, several solutions to this problem, Having the manufacturer permanently disable the passenger airbag is one option, but one that poses a significant problem when an adult uses the seat – they no longer have that potentially life-saving security. Many vehicles are now fitted with a manual deactivating switch, usually enabled with the car key. But recent surveys have shown that even the most caring and safety-conscious driver can sometimes forget, or simply not be bothered, to correctly use the one-off switch for the passenger airbag. A recent NHTSA study shows that in 48 percent of cases where a driver had a child (aged between one and twelve) in the front passenger seat, the airbag was switched on when it should have been off. And when an adult occupied the seat, in 52 percent of cases the airbag was switched off. Needless to say, in both scenarios the safety of the front-seat passenger is severely compromised. The ideal solution would be an automatic system that can detect whether a rear-facing child seat has been placed on the front passenger seat. Fortunately, such a system exists. The Child Seat Presence and Orientation Detection (CPOD) system was developed by IEE International Electronics and Engineering to respond to the problem of activating and deactivating the airbag according to the situation. CPOD works via two systems – sensors in the passenger seat and two resonators in the child seat. Operating in tandem, these allow the system to recognize the presence and the orientation of a child seat on the front passenger seat. This information is then transmitted to the Airbag Control Unit, which automatically switches off the relevant airbag if a rear-facing child seat is detected. The driver of the vehicle is also put at ease thanks to a warning signal that indicates when the airbag is switched off. The system is so sensitive that it can also detect whether the seat has been properly installed or if it is out of position. The CPOD system – the only one of its kind – has been available to car manufacturers for almost ten years. But so far only Mercedes, Mazda an Opel/Vauxhall have offered the safety feature to their customers in conjunction with Britax Römer child seats (or, in the case of Mercedes, with its own child seat range). IEE, based in Luxembourg and with research and development facilities in Michigan and Seoul, has been developing sensor safety systems for the automobile industry since 1993. Among its innovate designs are Passenger Presence Detection (PPD), Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) and Occupant Classification (OC®). The company is currently developing its next generation of thinner resonators that will allow the system to be integrated into more compact child seats and will also reduce the cost to the car and child seat manufacturers. Indeed, the company says it already has commitments from major European child seat manufacturers to install the new resonators into their range of products. The hope, therefore, is that the CPOD system will soon become accepted by automobile manufacturers as an industry standard. That would certainly put many parents’ minds at ease and could help save numerous lives. 886 Words Contact Françoise Pütz Senior Corporate Communication Specialist IEE S.A. 2b, route de Trèves L-2632 Luxembourg Phone : +352 424737 471 Fax : +352 424737 203 E-Mail : francoise.puetz@iee.lu Internet : www.iee.lu