Hasta La Ideas

Much like the life-saving iPhone app we featured last March, the Gabriel car set was created in a bit of an unconventional way. Similarly so, the idea that was unveiled can help prevent a multitude of accidental deaths for years to come. Last July, Opel—a car manufacturer based in Germany—conducted a competition calling for designers and car drivers to come up with ideas for new options to be hosted in Opel’s cars. One designer came up with a concept that helps drivers keep tabs on the car’s interior temperature in case a child is left inside.

The statistics are scary—an average of 20 children in Europe die from car-induced heatstroke every year, according to Opel. Add that to the 38 deaths on average in the U.S. each year, and we’ve got a problem long overdue for a solution.

They received over 1,350 ideas and cut that list down to 70 designs. The winner: Kenny de Vlieger, proud father of two sons. His design features a keychain that’s wirelessly connected to a pressure- and temperature-sensitive pad inside the car. In a collaboration with LDV United, Zenso and Achilles Design, de Vlieger and Opel made his design a reality.

Kenny de Vlieger and his family

de Vlieger calls his device a guardian angel of sorts—and rightly so, considering the lives it can save. This video goes more in-depth on the ins and outs of the design:

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