Lydia Denton got $20,000 after winning the CITGO's Fueling Education Student Challenge with her invention. The 12-year-old girl from North Carolina created a car seat device that prevents hot car deaths in babies.
Denton told People that it was cool to win the money, but she cared about saving lives more. Her first thought was that maybe no babies would die this summer because of her invention.
Upset about accidental deaths by hot cars
After watching the news and seeing that parents leave their babies in hot cars by accident, she got inspired. The soon-to-be seventh-grader did some research and saw that it happens many times. She got upset because it was not due to neglectful parents, so she wanted to help.
Initially, she thought about raising money to help families, but she knew it would not solve the problem. She said that she wanted to invent something that would prevent deaths. She shared her mom's motto in life.
Her mom often tells her to stop complaining and do something about it. Adding to that, her mom tells her that complaining or being sad does not solve the problem, so she has to take action.
Denton followed her mom's advice. She researched and thought about how she could fix the problem. The young girl wanted to build a car seat device that alerts 911 to save a baby if the parents could not. She also wanted to make an affordable device because she knows that many of her family and friends could not afford pricey car seats. She also made the device portable and one that could grow with babies.
Beat the heat car seat
After much thought, Denton was able to invent the prototype. Her car seat device has a pressure pad that detects the weight of over five pounds placed under the car seat cover. The system starts monitoring the temperature when the baby is seated. The alarm will go off if the temperature is above 102 degrees, and a warning on the LCD will appear.
The device will also send a text to the parent. After 60 seconds and no one has reset the button, the built-in GPS sends a message to 911. Arduino, the GPS, will send the car's location to emergency services.
The car seat device works fine right now after some improvements. Denton noted that they tested her invention with their local 911 center since the contest. She got frustrated because it took her over 100 tries to make it work. She thanks her science teacher mom and her brother for helping her improve and fix her work. Her younger gave her hugs, snacks, and company when she needed them.
Denton was shocked after hearing she won the contest. This spring, she also competed and placed her invention in four other national science competitions. She said that she would allot $20,000 for her college funds and use $100 for shopping.
She is currently working with a mentor about business and manufacturing her product. She hoped to sell her device someday. Her mentor predicts that it would sell for $40, or baby brands could pick it.
Because she has allergies, Denton plans to invent a device to detect allergens before it worsens. She writes down all her ideas, be it good or not.
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