The world's first production system for detecting people in the trunk and unlocking the lid should be available soon on the Oshawa-built Chevrolet Impala mid-size sedan.
Officially, General Motors is being coy about when the system will debut, but company insiders think it could be available by summer.
This is the second device from GM to aid people trapped in a trunk, since an aftermarket trunk release handle has been available for sevreal months from GM dealers across Canada.
As for the new device, "We're working hard to get this important safety feature in the Chevy Impala as soon as we can," says Impala chief engineer Greg Bellopatrick, but "We have some further testing to do to validate the system, to make sure it opens the trunk when we want it to open, and does not open it when we don't want it opened."
Bellopatrick explains that the system uses an infrared sensor mounted in the trunk just under the rear window. "The sensor detects both motion and temperature differential which could be generated by a person's presence in the trunk," he says. "Soon after detection, the system will sound the car's horn in a distinctive fashion using a pattern of three chirps. Shortly after that, the system will automatically unlock the trunk."
Right now, GM is conducting further tests to reduce the likelihood of false triggers to the system, since there are about a hundred places that having the trunk pop open would not be a good idea, even though the system's design doesn't allow it to open when the car is in motion but when the key is in the "On" position.