A vehicle seat sensor unit includes a seat occupancy sensor configured for wirelessly communicating with a control unit, at least one first seat detection sensor member and at least one second seat detection sensor member. The first seat detection sensor member is arrangeable in one out of a lower vehicle seat portion of a vehicle seat that is mountable in a vehicle in a removable manner, and a vehicle cabin floor, and the second seat detection sensor member is attachable to the other one of the lower vehicle seat portion and the vehicle cabin floor. The first seat detection sensor member and the second seat detection sensor member are configured to physically interact if mutually arranged within a specific distance. The physical interaction results in a detectable change of a status of at least one out of the first seat detection sensor member and the second seat detection sensor member.

A vehicle detection system includes an RFID reader, a detection device, and an ECU. The RFID reader transmits a transmission signal including at least a signal that supplies power. The detection device includes a second antenna unit that mutually transmits and receives a signal to and from the RFID reader, an RFID detection circuit that is activated using the signal that supplies power included in the transmission signal received by the second antenna unit as driving power and that outputs a detection signal to the second antenna unit, and a switch circuit that switches an electrical connection portion between the second antenna unit and the RFID detection circuit to a contact state or to a non-contact state according to a state inside the vehicle. The ECU determines the state inside the vehicle on the basis of the detection signal received by the RFID reader.

A vehicle having a horn and a light includes an alarm system secured to a ceiling of the vehicle. The alarm system includes a housing secured to the ceiling; a computer carried within the housing and in data communication with a thermal imaging sensor configured to determine if a party is left behind after the driver leaves the vehicle; a transceiver operably associated with the computer; and a mobile device operably associated with the transceiver. The method to notify a driver and/or third party if a party is left behind in a vehicle includes determining if the party is left behind via the thermal imaging sensor; and wirelessly notifying driver that the party has been left behind.

The systems and methods described herein can be applied to a vehicle equipped with a sensor suite that can observe information about a location, for example, a traffic light duration. The system can record information, e.g., the traffic light colors, duration of color changes, and location of the traffic lights and can upload this information to the cloud. Then, the system can augment or learn about the location, e.g., learning of traffic patterns, and store the augmented data as database-based information, where available. The learned information can help a requesting vehicle to better estimate an estimated time of arrival (ETA) for common routes taken, provide more accurate ETAs based on historical knowledge, and/or calculate or provide alternative route information.

A radio wave transmitting/receiving device is placed in a vehicle in such a way that the device is near the back of the seated person, and no discomfort is caused to the back of the seated person. The vehicle seat includes a seat cushion and a seatback connected to a rear part of the seat cushion. The seatback comprises a seatback frame including a left and a right side frame portion extending vertically, and an upper frame portion extending laterally between upper ends of the side frame portions, a pressure receiving member consisting of a plate member configured to support a back of a seated person and provided with a radio wave transmissive property, and supported by the seatback frame via an elastic member, and a radio wave transmitting/receiving device supported on a back surface of the pressure receiving member to irradiate radio wave to a seated person and receive radio wave reflected by the seated person.

A biological sensor is provided with at least two sensors for detecting vibrations, and is configured so that the at least two sensors form layers. One of the at least two sensors is a first sensor used to acquire biological information, and one is a second sensor used to remove noise. A first cushion material for reducing vibrations is disposed between the first sensor and the second sensor. The first cushion material is integrally laminated with the first sensor and the second sensor. This facilitates accurate detection of biological information.

A child safety system for alerting caregivers that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned. The system includes a child presence detecting device having a Bluetooth Low Energy beacon that transmits a signal only when a child is detected in a location. A local mobile device receives and interprets the signal so as to generate a local alert when the signal strength falls below a threshold. The local alert tells a caregiver carrying the local mobile device that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned. The local mobile device also sends a remote alert via internet to a central server that communicates the remote alert to at least one remote mobile device. The local mobile device also sends the remote alert via an internet connection to a second server that communicate the remote alert to at least one additional remote mobile device via a respective individual internet connection.

A system for alerting caregivers that a child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned in a location, such as a car seat. The system transmits a signal only when the child is detected in the location. A local mobile device generates a local alert when the signal strength falls below a threshold. The local alert tells a caregiver carrying the local mobile device that the child has been abandoned. The local mobile device also sends a remote alert to a central server that sends the remote alert to at least one remote mobile device. The central server can also send a remote alert to at least one remote mobile device indicating that the caregiver has abandoned both the child and the local mobile device if the child is detected, the local mobile device has not moved for a while, and the caregiver has not responded to local mobile device prompts.

A capacitance measurement circuit for determining a capacitance of a guard-sense capacitive sensor includes a microcontroller that uses a combination of several synchronized PWM outputs for generating a low distortion sine wave. The sine wave is used as a guard voltage for the guard electrode of the capacitive sensor. The capacitance value of an unknown capacitor is measured by impinging the guard voltage on the sense electrode of the capacitive sensor by a modified sigma-delta modulator unit. The digital output of the sigma-delta modulator unit is first multiplied by an XOR gate before being routed into a decimator/low pass filter. The second input of the XOR gate is driven by a square wave from a square wave generator with the same frequency as the guard voltage, but with a substantially 90? phase shift. The output of the decimator/low pass filter is indicative of the capacitance value of the unknown capacitor.

A method for a vehicle includes using sensors in a vehicle seat to detect biometrics of a person sitting in the seat and a vehicle controller determining from the biometrics of the person whether the person requires medical attention. In response to the person requiring medical attention, a request for assistance for the person is broadcasted via a V2X transceiver of the vehicle to medical practitioners of a medical practitioner network who are near a location of vehicle during the broadcasting. The medical practitioner network includes the person as a subscriber and medical practitioners as providers. Alternately, in response to the person requiring medical attention, the vehicle controller uses an autonomous vehicle control system of the vehicle to drive the vehicle to a medical facility.