The sensing devices in most car seats can’t distinguish the difference between say an inanimate bag of groceries versus a highly fidgety child if both are similar in weight.

BeBop Sensors is working to change that with fabric sensors it is developed that are meant to make car seats smarter and thus safer. According to BeBop, the average car seat is pretty dumb. They are equipped with what is called an occupant classification system (OCS) that's comprised of a series of bladders, hoses and pressure sensors to determine the weight of the car seat's occupant.

But how many of us have placed a heavy item on a car seat only to have the seatbelt indicator light go on indicating the car seat thinks there's someone there who needs to buckle up? What BeBop has created is a smart OCS system that can provide a greater level of detail by being able to distinguish a car seat occupant's size, weight and movements in real time. The latter includes sensing when someone is leaning forward or backward, right or left and crossing their legs. It can also detect something static like a baby seat.

A car seat with BeBop's system would be able to more accurately know when and how to deploy an air bag based on the person's position, weight and size at the moment of impact. The key to this smarter approach is a waterproof, automotive grade fabric about 1 mm thick with built-in sensors. The company says the fabric can easily be custom-fitted and placed under the upholstery of seats of any size or shape, including the front or back row.

The technology has no moving parts, giving it high reliability, and is built to automotive grade in terms of environmental and durability specifications. BeBop says it is starting to work with automobile manufacturers looking for more intelligent and dependable solutions to address the increasing failure rates and product recalls attributed to current OCS systems.

BeBop uses smart fabrics to create elegant sensor solutions for OEMs. Where things or people interact, BeBop Sensors comprehend force, location, size, weight, shape, motion and presence across any size, resolution and geometry. BeBop technology is proven with over a million sensors in daily use. Based in California, BeBop Sensors makes things knowable for product designers and visionaries. BeBop uses a proprietary Monolithic Fabric Sensor Technology that integrates all of the sensors, traces and electronics into a single piece of fabric. This approach affords greater sensitivity, resolution, range of deployment and fantastic robustness with diminutive size. Unlike other wearables that measure physiology, such as EKG or EMG, BeBop sensors measure physicality. BeBop technology senses and displays 3D maps of pressure, bend, location, rotation, angle, and torsion.