With the hot summer months upon us, we need to be aware of how the heat affects both us and our passengers. Since 1996, an average number of 37 U.S child deaths have occurred per year due to vehicular heat stroke. According to carsandkids.org, 55% of the time, these deaths occur when the child is unknowingly left in the car by a loving parent.
Bishop Curry, an eleven-year-old from McKinney, Texas, is looking to change that by designing a solution.
“When he showed me that sketch I was so proud of him for thinking of a solution,” Bishop Curry’s father, Bishop Curry IV told CBS news. “We always just complain about things and rarely offer solutions.”
Bishop calls his device “Oasis” and hopes that it will help prevent future heatstroke deaths from happening. Bishop came up with this idea and sketch one day, after hearing a six-month-old had died from being left in a hot car for four hours.
“I know what it feels like to lose a family member that’s really close to you,” he told the Anna-Melissa Tribune. “I don’t want anybody else to feel that.”
The Oasis functions by being placed on the headrest of the car seat and monitors the internal temperature of the car. Additionally, the device can determine if the car is stopped and if there is a child in the car seat.
“If all those things are taking place it blows cold air on the child through an internal cooling system,” Bishop explained to CBS News.
He didn’t stop there with his innovation though, as Oasis will go on to alert the parents and the authorities, using the GPS position and WiFi technology.
Believing his son’s idea as something different and worth sharing, Curry, who works as an engineer at Toyota’s Plano, TX headquarters, pitched the idea to his company. According to NBC, Toyota was so impressed, that they gave Curry a chance to pitch the device at an auto safety conference in Michigan.
Although many manufacturers have shown interest, says Curry, no decision has been made. Curry also holds a provisional patent for his design.
Bishop’s design and concept have generated a buzz online and garnered much support. His GoFundMe Campaign has raised a total of $41,598 since it was launched in January. That money, according to campaign’s description, will go toward finalizing the patent, building prototypes, and identifying a manufacturer.
While it may still be some time before Bishop’s device hits the market, there are still things that we can do to prevent child heatstroke deaths. The California Highway Patrol offers these tips.
Curry, regarding his inventive nature, told NBC, “it would be a dream to have lots of inventions that would save many lives”.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
