Stray Saver

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Inspiration

I've read several times in the newspaper that animals seeking refuge underneath cars are run over when the driver starts the car without looking underneath for resting animals. This issue occurs on a large scale daily. Due to atmospheric conditions (extreme heat during summer and extremely cold winters), animals prefer to nap under the shade of vehicles. In this fast-paced life, drivers seldom devote any time to check for animals underneath the cars. This leads to severe accidents and in some cases, even death of the animal. Thus, it is necessary to come up with methods to prevent these mishaps.

What it does

This project makes use of thermal sensors that are embedded underneath cars (or any other vehicle) to check for the presence of an animal underneath. The sensors are activated when the driver turns on the car, and it acts instantaneously to detect the presence of animals' underneath. If it detects one, it sends forth a siren to alert the driver about the animal and instantly cuts off the power supply, preventing the driver from starting the car. In this way, the animals can peacefully rest when the car is not in use, and during starting of the car, the animals can be shooed off.

How we built it

Since mammals (stray animals) are warm-blooded creatures, the thermal sensor can easily differentiate between the surrounding temperature and the body temperature of the animal, thus forming a contrast. The output from the sensor is fed to a relay circuit which sounds a siren, which gives an indication to the driver that an animal is resting underneath. The thermal sensors are so positioned that they require minimum space and their field-of-view spans over the entire base dimensions of the car. The control signal from the sensors reaches the ECU (electronic control unit), which instantly cuts off the supply to the vehicle.

Challenges we ran into

The interconnection between the thermal sensors, ECU and siren circuit was a bit challenging for me. Additionally, the number of sensors to be used and the field of view of each was also challenging, since the structure, design, elevation of base of car from ground is different in different car designs.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

This method allows for animals to have a good resting place while the car is inoperative, while ensuring that the driver doesn't run over them when the car is about to start. This way, numerous lives can be saved. This mechanism can be easily incorporated into the ECU of all cars to ensure better animal safety.

What we learned

While working for this project, I came up with a smart way to leverage technology to save animal lives. This project helped me understand that technology, when used for social good can provide spectacular results. While searching for ideas, I also came across other technological ideas aimed at animal welfare.

What's next for Stray Saver

This method can further be extended to other vehicles (ex: trucks, heavy duty vehicles) by means of larger number of sensors. This method can be extended to EVs, HEVs, IC engine vehicles etc. It is a flexible idea which can be implemented on a large scale.

Built With

• ecu
• iot
• sensor