Photo: Mercedes-Benz
When it showed the GLE-based Experimental Safety Vehicle at the convention with the same name in the Netherlands, Mercedes-Benz introduced an evolved child seat that takes full advantage of the carmaker’s Pre-Safe suite of technologies.
The decision to show such an evolution was taken after a study by UDV, an insurance research company, showed that nearly half of the kids transported by car are not properly secured in their seats.
Called Pre-Safe Child, the new seat is supposed to help parents be better at this in the future. The seat is supposed to reduce the risk of incorrect installation thanks to the embedded monitoring system that tells people they are doing something wrong.
By using symbols included in the seat, parents are guided toward a successful conclusion of their efforts, which is rewarded by an indicator announcing the task was correctly performed.
The seat can be networked with the car itself, meaning parents can check at all times the status of the seat by simply looking at the car’s media display.
Also because it’s networked, the seat knows everything the car knows so, in case of an imminent crash, the seat’s five-point belt system is tensioned moments before the accident, and an additional side impact protection element is extended.
Taking the technology even further, Mercedes included a life signs monitor into the seat. By reading data from sensors and a camera placed around the seat, the system tells parents how hot or cold their child is, how fast his heart is beating and how fast or shallow he’s breathing.
The seat even tells parents via the media screen what the child is doing, and alerts them when the child is waking up, for instance. When stuck in traffic, the camera can be engaged so that the image of the little one in the back is displayed on the car's screen.
The Pre-Safe Child seat is for now just a proof of concept, and Mercedes says it has not decided yet to give the green light for production or not.
Called Pre-Safe Child, the new seat is supposed to help parents be better at this in the future. The seat is supposed to reduce the risk of incorrect installation thanks to the embedded monitoring system that tells people they are doing something wrong.
By using symbols included in the seat, parents are guided toward a successful conclusion of their efforts, which is rewarded by an indicator announcing the task was correctly performed.
The seat can be networked with the car itself, meaning parents can check at all times the status of the seat by simply looking at the car’s media display.
Also because it’s networked, the seat knows everything the car knows so, in case of an imminent crash, the seat’s five-point belt system is tensioned moments before the accident, and an additional side impact protection element is extended.
Taking the technology even further, Mercedes included a life signs monitor into the seat. By reading data from sensors and a camera placed around the seat, the system tells parents how hot or cold their child is, how fast his heart is beating and how fast or shallow he’s breathing.
The seat even tells parents via the media screen what the child is doing, and alerts them when the child is waking up, for instance. When stuck in traffic, the camera can be engaged so that the image of the little one in the back is displayed on the car's screen.
The Pre-Safe Child seat is for now just a proof of concept, and Mercedes says it has not decided yet to give the green light for production or not.
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