Kickstart: A safer ride for babies

Could a small electronic sensor tucked in a car's plastic and fabric headliner save lives?

Toyota Motor Corp. thinks it could and is currently testing Cabin Awareness, an "inward-facing, millimeter-wave, high-resolution imaging radar to detect the micromovements of most life forms" inside a car and help make sure that neither babies nor pets are left in hot vehicles, Larry P. Vellequette from our sister paper Automotive News writes.

In 2021, 23 children and 59 pets died in the U.S. because they were left in hot cars. Cabin Awareness is sensitive enough to even detect the rise and fall of a sleeping baby's chest, then can send alerts to the driver. If needed, it can even open windows or turn on a vehicle's heating or cooling system if it detects a dangerous situation.

Cabin Awareness is going through trials on autonomous Sienna minivans being tested in Michigan and Texas.

The CEO and founder of Master Spas Inc. has set his retirement for the end of 2022.

Bob Lauter told Spa Retailer that he intends to remain as chairman of the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based maker of spas and hot tubs while continuing to devote time to charities.

The company launched in 1996 with acrylic and composite spas and has innovated both its in-house production and its retail operations by establishing a network of dealers.

In 2017, Master Spas won a top award from the Association of Rotational Molders for its work in developing a rotomolded polyethylene spa that allowed the company to sell at a lower price point.

In 2018, the company launched a $15.3 million expansion in Fort Wayne.

The company also developed a class of swim spas with input from Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, tapping into a new set of customers who use spas for swim training in a system that is similar to a treadmill for runners, but using jets rather than a running belt.

Master Spas marked its 25th anniversary in 2021. It has more than 1,000 employees on a 35-acre manufacturing base in Indiana.

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When Editor Don Loepp wrote a few weeks ago that plastics terms would be great for Wordle puzzles, I don't think he expected that anyone would be doing that.

And yet we now have a materials-related version of the word puzzle game, thanks to the Germany-based materials platform Matmatch.

Like its inspiration, Matword gives you six chances to guess a five-letter word, with a new word each day. Matword selects materials-related words, so expect choices like "flake" or "scrap" or Monday's word, "gauge." (These won't necessarily be specific to plastics, since Matmatch involves a variety of materials.)

"Matword is a light-hearted way for us to have fun with the subject we're passionate about," Samir Jaber, technical content writer at Matmatch, said in a news release. "We're looking forward to seeing how the materials engineering community responds to the game and whether they manage to guess the words."

In addition to the five-letter word, Matword also offers a version with a six-letter word, giving you an extra chance for that. Each day's puzzle can be played at matmatch.com/matword-game.