Volvo recently unveiled the company’s new interior radar feature that’s designed to be accurate and sensitive enough to, essentially, detect the smallest movements at an incredible sub-millimeter scale – including those of a sleeping toddler. It’s the very first feature of its kind to offer coverage of the entire vehicle interior, including the trunk.
Volvo’s radar system, which will be integrated in the forthcoming Volvo EX90 SUV, was specifically created to help address the source of a terrible tragedy that has proven all too real for many families.
Official US statistics show that since 1998, almost 1000 children in the US have died due to being left in hot cars. Heartbreakingly, a majority of hot car deaths happened because someone forgot that their child was in the vehicle.
Volvo wants to lower the risk that anyone will be left behind or forgotten.
The company’s advanced interior radar system will debut as standard, where regulation permits, on the Volvo EX90 that will be shown on November 9. The feature will also be included in other forthcoming Volvo car models.
To offer support over as much of the cabin as possible by detecting whether a child or pet has been left in the vehicle, Volvo spread out radars across the cabin from front to back, even for the rear trunk.
To ensure you’re notified when you need to be, and to help prevent ‘reminder fatigue’, Volvo’s engineers concluded that the best time to signal the potential presence of family members left inside the vehicle is when you try to lock it.
Basically, whenever you try to lock the car, the interior radar system activates and detects whether your car has any people or pets inside before it allows the lock to work.
If the system finds a family member or pet inside, the vehicle will stay unlocked and the car will display a reminder to check the cabin for occupants on the center console screen.
Keep reading our blog at Scott Volvo in Allentown for up-to-date information on all of Volvo’s technological innovations! Browse our inventory for the latest models, and if you have any questions or want to schedule a drive, contact us today!
AdChoices