Auto Guardian Project
Auto Guardian is a factory installed software system. It detects potentially dangerous thermal situations within the cabin of a vehicle. Death or serious, life-changing harm to children or pets is prevented by a sophisticated, plug-n-play algorithm that is autonomous in a similar way to airbags: working in the background until needed to intervene in a PDS. The system controls the vehicle’s internal environment to sustain life until emergency responders arrive It uses native vehicle sensors and devices, as built into each vehicle make and model, to determine thermal conditions. Sensing danger to the child or pet, the system executes action commands.
No Competing Priorities
The clear and guiding goal of the two inventors of the Auto Guardian Life-Preservation System was to save the lives of those trapped in vehicles. Left unattended, possibly forgotten, the rapid rise in temperature results in great pain and suffering for children, frail elderly, disabled persons or pets.
The extensive patent and study-literature search that preceded and accompanied the work throughout, revealed that the focus was on the driver. Statistics show deaths continue to occur; are on the rise, year-by-year. The solution is not about alerting the driver. It is ensuring the vehicle is “smart” enough to preserve life.
The inventors, Dr. Lin Yu and Clover Apelian were alarmed by the mounting death rate and, in 2014, set out three objectives, 180° from current thinking:
- no human would be required for the daily operation of the system
- the system would use only those elements already native to any make or model vehicle; cost-saving;
- the system would be low risk, thus, minimal liability for the auto manufacturers; native hardware/software having been thoroughly tested and approved.
A Utility patent was issued in 2020. US Pat. No. 10,603,980it was preceded by a Provisional patent application in 2017.
The Auto Guardian system prevents child or pet entrapment in vehicles which, if left for extended periods of time, will result in serious injuries or fatalities. It is a complete cabin environmental control system; a plug-n-play design that is sensitive to both the timing of intervention and the level of risk associated with it. Nuanced, deterministic and “smart.”