TOKYO: Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday that it has added a function to prevent children from being left in vehicles to a robot it jointly developed with baby goods retailer Akachan Honpo Co.

With the new monitoring function, the “iruyo” puppet robot will alert users via smartphone when the distance between them and the robot exceeds around 3 meters while one or more children are left in a car. Nissan will consider commercializing the robot.

The automaker plans to organize interactive events featuring the robot to raise awareness and educate the public about the importance of not leaving children in vehicles.

Iruyo, designed to be installed in the back seat, waves to a baby in the child seat when a voice instruction is given, Nissan officials said, adding that it also allows the driver to check if a child is sleeping or not.

JIJI Press