GM to launch smart cars with eye and drivers’ head and eye tracking technology
02 Sep 2014
General Motors plans to launch the world's first smart cars with eye and head-tracking technology that would warn drivers if they were checking their phones or getting distracted while driving, technology social network cbronline reported.
Japanese automotive safety systems supplier Takata has signed a contract with Australian firm Seeing Machines to supply these tracking devices for 500,000 vehicles over the next five years for the US car manufacturer.
GM will use the tracking devices for 500,000 vehicles over the next five years.
The tracking monitors would measure the rotation of the head to alert drivers if they were being inattentive at the wheel.
Ken Kroeger, Seeing Machines' CEO told The Financial Times, safety did not sell cars, sexy sold cars, but once cameras were there, they could be expanded for other features and purposes.
He pointed to cases that would allow the car to detect the identity of a driver to combat car theft, or allow activation of dashboard app by a motorist who would need to simply look at it.
Any privacy concerns should partly be addressed by the fact that the Seeing Machines' device would not keep or transmit any information initially, the report said.
Seeing Machines, said in a blog post about the deal with Takata that before the roads of the world are flooded with the driverless cars, it was in the news that ''generations of semi-autonomous cars,'' would use its technology. These cars would be smart enough to take over a number of vital driving functions but would complement and not replace the driver.
According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers it would not be until around 2040 that the majority of cars were driverless, but tech companies meanwhile could concentrate on making roads safer by tackling the biggest problems first.
According to research 90 per cent of road accidents were caused by inattentive or distracted drivers, which would allow the system from Seeing Machines to make a big difference to keeping GM drivers safe.
