Each time you get into your car it doesn’t actually know anything about you.
You simply insert the key and off you go. A new advancement in technology is currently being researched against humans as they are the fleshy part of vehicle control which make errors and are often the cause accidents. Whether they are simply tired or have a stroke, heart attack or even trying to drink and drive, these are just a few things that can decrease our driving ability. As a result technology is being developed to monitor important vitals of the driver, such as: facial recognition, eye movements, heart rate and even brain activity. This will enable a vehicle to detect a number of symptoms and create an alert in the event a driver does fall asleep or have a heart attack. A medical school in Japan have already made advances with this and are testing electrocardiograph sensors which are built into steering wheels and can detect initial signs that the driver may be having a heart attack.
Nissan are also researching technology which would finally be able to detect drivers that have been drinking alcohol by measuring the amount of alcohol in your sweat through the gear knob. They would couple this with the car’s navigation system to sound an alarm when unusual driving is detected like veering across lanes. There could also be a ‘sniff’ sensor which could stop people from driving if they enter it with a stench of alcohol however this is still in development.
Audi are working on face recognition will also be working to ensure you keep your eyes on the road. If you are not looking straight ahead the car may slow down and alert you with an alarm in another attempt to prevent any potential accident.
Luckily all of these technologies are not going to be sprung upon us all at once so we will probably have time to get used to them one at a time! Have you heard about any other technological advancement for cars? Leave a comment to let us know!
