Bishop Curry heard that a neighboring family lost their 6-year-old child. It was a hot summer day in Texas and unfortunately, tragedy struck. Curry, a child himself, simply figured that no one should feel the sting of that pain again and so he decided to do something about it. Bishop went to work, sketching out a prototype for a device that he would later name “Oasis.” With the help of thousands of online supporters, Bishop raised over $50,000 and successfully patented the device.
Oasis attaches to a headrest or car seat. It detects motion in car seats, which indicates a child is still present. If the car becomes overheated it alerts emergency services that a child has been left in a hot car and sends an alert to the parents’ phones — all while blowing cool air until emergency help physically arrives. Not bad for a kid inventor. Bishop’s dad is an engineer for Toyota and even he was impressed; he saw the potential in the idea and immediately began supporting his son. Toyota was also impressed, opting to send the pair all the way to Michigan for a safety conference.
About 37 children die annually after being trapped inside of hot vehicles. After raising $50,000 on Go Fund Me, Bishop was able to secure a patent for Oasis, moving him a step closer to bringing the product to market so that 37 kids a year can be saved. This is an invention that is sure to save lives and also further a rich legacy of Black inventors. Let’s all salute Bishop for his tireless work to make our world safer, for children.