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Comment by lovetocode | Hacker News Reader

I wish Tesla would have focused more on using the CV technology to strengthen its collision avoidance and safety systems which is lacking. There was a lot of emphasis on marketing the FSD but I think FSD would have been a byproduct of a robust and reliable collision avoidance system. I don't care about FSD -- I care about getting my family to where we are going safely! Tesla should warn me if I am about to run a stop light or stop sign. It would also be nice to have an infant protection system that detects children locked in vehicles and takes action to protect them from overheating -- which seems plausible based on the hardware inside my 2021 Model Y.

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There is a "keep car cool for pets" mode that also works for children. Has a helpful message on the screen so passing do-gooders don't have to worry.

An automated system to prevent harm caused through parental negligence would be interesting, but how would you even detect that a baby was present? Maybe some kind of 'have' token attached to the carrier or car seat? OTOH that could cause more harm via accidental strandings. Would be interesting to search for an elegant solution.

I'm pretty sure Tesla had a patent or something that was some kind of sensor, not sure what exactly, to detect living beings in the car, but I don't remember the details.

My car seems to be able to tell there's a child seat in the back and the screen beeps and reminds me to check the rear seat for passengers when I turn off the car.

I haven't really fully thought it out. But you could maybe use the microphone to detect crying (if the baby is conscious). There is an internal camera that might help as well to detect movement but may be a bit more difficult with rear facing car seats. I wonder if the weight sensor that triggers the seat belt warnings is sensitive enough to detect a baseline weight of the car seat and the weight of a child.

> It would also be nice to have an infant protection system that detect children locked in vehicles and take action to protect them from overheating

I thought Tesla announced something like that a while ago, was it just loose talk on Twitter by Elon?

Cabin overheat protection exists, but it "only" keeps the vehicle below 105, and I don't think it automatically does anything based upon the detection of passengers.

Cabin overheat protection was apparently created to mitigate issues with the original LCD screens yellowing and failing because they were not rated for the heat that is experienced in a hot car on a summer day. Keeping the car at a temperature that won't kill a forgotten child was a convenient side effect. Also, the screens are properly specced now.

Not that I am aware of but I also don't keep up with Twitter much. Maybe I should.

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