Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Waze did this for a while but stopped. I think if you need this reminder, you’re an awful parent. How stupid are you?

Offered on US Market cars only because our parents are fucking stupid. Just like a seat belt warning tone that comes on as soon as you turn the key.
Yeah there was a case I think it was in BK actually, some dude left his toddlers in the car in like 100 degree heat with obvious results.

I mean yeah being a parent can be very tiring but I’ve never not been aware that my kids are in the car...
 
GLaDOS as the voice's personality please.

GLaDOS: "Well, I'm back. The child sensor in the back is sending a distress signal. It must not be calibrated to someone of your kids... generous... ness. I'll add a few zeros to the maximum weight. It looks great, by the way. Very healthy."

switch off car and open door for kid

"Well done. In fact, you did so well, I'm going to note this on your file, in the commendations section. Oh, there's lots of room here. 'Did.... well. ... Enough.'"
 
Since it is a voluntary thing, they will probably develop their own ways to do it.
Right but still, how would you even implement that? Weight sensors would be unreliable since they would be set off by junk in the seat. Having a sensor on the LATCH points would only work if people use it (for example my oldest is big enough that she only needs a booster)
 
Waze did this for a while but stopped. I think if you need this reminder, you’re an awful parent. How stupid are you?

Offered on US Market cars only because our parents are fucking stupid. Just like a seat belt warning tone that comes on as soon as you turn the key.

The Euros have Seat Belt Reminder Systems mandatory as of 2008.
 
True, but I wouldn't care; still plenty fast, still handles well, and sounds better.

I am not sure the glass gearbox could take a lower RPM/off the line power hit. It barely tolerates the stock turbo's power rush.
 
Right but still, how would you even implement that? Weight sensors would be unreliable since they would be set off by junk in the seat. Having a sensor on the LATCH points would only work if people use it (for example my oldest is big enough that she only needs a booster)

I don't know, why don't you give me your theory Mr. Big City engineer?
 
Could surveil not just the LATCH points but also the seatbelt. Weight sensors plus seatbelt hasp and reel surveillance is how passenger front airbag systems determine whether you have some junk on the seat or if there's someone in it - and if there's someone in it, if they weigh enough that the airbag going off is unlikely to kill them. Some sort of variant on one of the the Occupant Classification Systems would probably do just fine.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/ocs1.htm

I realize that there's a lot of real world engineering that will have to go into this but as a basic concept (concept, not the reality of a shipping product - don't go off on me, CrzRsn) this wouldn't be totally rocket science to implement, not at the hardware level. Take something like the Delphi OCS mentioned in the above link, add sensors for the LATCH anchors, tie it in to the in-cabin air temp sensors or add some of its own and I think that's the hardware down. Could possibly add a CO2 or a thermal sensor to determine if what's buckled in is animate, etc. The real problems I see are going to be the software logic for the system (I can see this being a giant timesink for the software engineers) and choosing how/when to notify the driver that they were doing a very lethal dumb by leaving their kids in the car.

I can imagine GM just taking a shortcut and the system using OnStar to dispatch the police to "notify" the parent - and I'm not sure that's a horrible idea in theory. I can also see the system, like so many other systems GM inexplicably did not figure out immediately obvious failure points for, deciding to just randomly start calling OnStar while the car is driving down the road...
 
I am not sure the glass gearbox could take a lower RPM/off the line power hit. It barely tolerates the stock turbo's power rush.
Hmm, part of my idea was that with a lower-torque NA engine the box wouldn't be under as much stress vs. the stock turbo car.
 
I don't know, why don't you give me your theory Mr. Big City engineer?
Spectre already covered it more or less. A more expensive but likely better solution might be toss a camera in there with a weight sensor. Another alternative is putting the sensors into the child seat itself, this way it would work in any car and always be accurate, though no clue how much it would raise car seat prices. It would also have to be well covered so that you can still hose the seats out when your kiddo gets car sick (been there, NOT fun)
Weight sensors plus seatbelt hasp and reel surveillance is how passenger front airbag systems determine whether you have some junk on the seat or if there's someone in it
Not in my cars... Every time I put something heavy enough in front seat of either car it pops up the "pass air bag off" warning.
I can imagine GM just taking a shortcut and the system using OnStar to dispatch the police to "notify" the parent
I'm actually OK with that... Since OnStar also has microphones it could in theory listen for breathing.
 
Most people that buy GM vehicles do not pay for the On-Star service. I also doubt the microphones are sensitive enough to hear a sleeping kid breathe.
 
I remember reading that OnStar is always on, no matter whether you pay for it or not. You can make the mics more sensitive, also I would assume they'd wake up and cry eventually.
add sensors for the LATCH anchors,
I had more of a thought on this, I think LATCH would have to be redesigned for sensors to work, as they are right not is just a metal hoop bolted to a hard point. Not sure if simply adding a resistance sensor in there would do the trick.
 
Hmm, part of my idea was that with a lower-torque NA engine the box wouldn't be under as much stress vs. the stock turbo car.

The turbo setup of the stock engine would cripple the low end torque compared to the hypothetical NA engine; the NA engine would be able to produce more torque off the line thereby shattering the gearbox.
 
I remember reading that OnStar is always on, no matter whether you pay for it or not. You can make the mics more sensitive, also I would assume they'd wake up and cry eventually.

On in what way? If you are in an accident and have not paid for it, it does not activate. I bet if you press the button they would want a credit card number.

I am also against a system having the mics on all the time listening to me. If I wanted Siri or Alexa to do ride alongs with me, I would carry them with me.

The simpler the system the better. Weight sensor plus the seatbelt being fastened sets off the alarm after, say a minute. Cheap and simple, plus easily remedied for a false alarm.
 
On in what way?
From what I remember it tracked your car and reported back to homebase even if service was disconnected.

I am also against a system having the mics on all the time listening to me.
If you use any smartphone it already does anyway.
The simpler the system the better. Weight sensor plus the seatbelt being fastened sets off the alarm after, say a minute. Cheap and simple, plus easily remedied for a false alarm.
Still need LATCH sensors. Also software has to detect whether car is running or not and also adults being in the car or not. Plenty of times one of us would stay in the car with sleeping (or even awake) kids while the other one goes in a store or somesuch.

Another thing is that it has to have some way of notifying your phone or have 0 delay, because anything that makes noise inside the car is rather pointless if I already exited, locked and fucked off.
 
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From what I remember it tracked your car and reported back to homebase even if service was disconnected.

More reason to disconnect OnStar.


If you use any smartphone it already does anyway.


Only if you have that feature turned on.


Still need LATCH sensors. Also software has to detect whether car is running or not and also adults being in the car or not. Plenty of times one of us would stay in the car with sleeping (or even awake) kids while the other one goes in a store or somesuch.

Latch sensors are cheap. If an adult is in the car, leave the keys.


Another thing is that it has to have some way of notifying your phone or have 0 delay, because anything that makes noise inside the car is rather pointless if I already exited, locked and fucked off.

The car alarm (not a silly buzzer) is enough to get your attention, or the attention of somebody nearby.

Although, a silly buzzer would be nice once you shut off the car(something that has been able to be done for a long time without a computer) and before it sets off the alarm.
 
Only if you have that feature turned on.
Nope

Latch sensors are cheap.
Like I said above, the way LATCH is at the moment it couldn't take a sensor, they would have to be redesigned, which might not be as cheap as you think. You are also talking about extra wiring and such.
If an adult is in the car, leave the keys.
Now more logic is being added to the software.

The car alarm (not a silly buzzer) is enough to get your attention, or the attention of somebody nearby.
Do people even pay attention to those? No one in NYC does for sure.
Although, a silly buzzer would be nice once you shut off the car(something that has been able to be done for a long time without a computer) and before it sets off the alarm.
That sounds beyond annoying.
 
Sorry for hijacking your debate about children left in cars, but I do have something that might be potentially interesting to some of the FinalGear forum members. Didn't know where to post it exactly, so here it goes.

We're cleaning the house and my mum wants me to throw out most of my car magazines. They're mostly mid-2000's magazines that I'll let go off, some I'll be putting for sale, but some will go to the paper trash container. Now, amongst those that I planned throwing away are some 90's Italian Gente Motori magazines. Would anyone be interested if I scanned some pictures from those magazines? Perhaps digitise them all together, although that might not be legal? Is the physical edition of the magazine still around? I see that https://gentemotori.it/ is still an active site, but I tried looking into Italian Wikipedia and couldn't find a page about Gente Motori (only about the Gente magazine, which I assume is a parent magazine to Gente Motori).

Oh, and if anyone cares about Croatian car magazines from mid-2000's, I guess I could scan them since they're mostly from two now defunct magazines, but then, that was the era of high-speed internet, so I don't take that those would be interesting enough.
 
I see no reason why you couldn't digitize em and post on a private forum. Doubt that Gente Motori would be trawling a random forum just for some old magazines.
 
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