Volvo Heartbeat Sensor
The 2007 Volvo S80 sedan included an unusual feature: a heartbeat sensor. If someone was hiding in the car, the sensor could detect this and notify you as you approached. The ad for the S80 dramatized how the feature worked. I'm sure there must be real-life cases of criminals hiding in cars, but I think the idea is mostly urban-legend inspired. It's included in Jan Harold Brunvand's Encyclopedia of Urban Legends as "The Killer in the Backseat" legend. Anyway, the sensor had a serious limitation. It would only search for a heartbeat once the car alarm had been activated. As the Autopian blog notes: "In what weird situation does someone break into a car, and then sit in the back while the alarm is going off, waiting for the owner to come back?"
The 2007 Volvo S80 sedan included an unusual feature: a heartbeat sensor. If someone was hiding in the car, the sensor could detect this and notify you as you approached.
The ad for the S80 dramatized how the feature worked.
I'm sure there must be real-life cases of criminals hiding in cars, but I think the idea is mostly urban-legend inspired. It's included in Jan Harold Brunvand's Encyclopedia of Urban Legends as "The Killer in the Backseat" legend.
Anyway, the sensor had a serious limitation. It would only search for a heartbeat once the car alarm had been activated. As the Autopian blog notes: "In what weird situation does someone break into a car, and then sit in the back while the alarm is going off, waiting for the owner to come back?"
The ad for the S80 dramatized how the feature worked.
I'm sure there must be real-life cases of criminals hiding in cars, but I think the idea is mostly urban-legend inspired. It's included in Jan Harold Brunvand's Encyclopedia of Urban Legends as "The Killer in the Backseat" legend.
Anyway, the sensor had a serious limitation. It would only search for a heartbeat once the car alarm had been activated. As the Autopian blog notes: "In what weird situation does someone break into a car, and then sit in the back while the alarm is going off, waiting for the owner to come back?"
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