Self-driving cars may be what many believe is the future of the much talked-about connected car, but reducing distracted driving through sensors that monitor brain waves and driver concentration could ultimately end up saving more lives. Researchers at English automotive company Jaguar Land Rover are working on this technology in hopes that it will reduce accidents.
Distracted driving is taking your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, or your mind off driving. Texting while driving is against the law in most states, but it’s hard to regulate daydreaming and driving. Zoning out not only causes you to miss your turn, but it also may cause you to plow into the car in front of you. Every day, nine people are killed and more than one thousand people are injured in crashes that involve a distracted driver, according to the CDC.
Basically, Jaguar’s research involves finding ways to monitor a driver’s heart rate, respiration, and brainwaves to monitor their concentration and detect if the driver is beginning to daydream or nod off while driving. Sensors are embedded in the steering wheel to detect brainwaves through the hands. In the seat of the car, a medical-grade sensor originally developed for use in hospitals detects vibrations from the driver's heart beat and breathing.
"If brain activity indicates a daydream or poor concentration, then the steering wheel or pedals could vibrate to raise the driver's awareness and re-engage them with driving," said Dr Wolfgang Epple, Jaguar Land Rover Director of Research and Technology. "If Mind Sense does not detect a surge in brain activity following the car displaying a warning icon or sound, then it could display it again, or communicate with the driver in a different way, to ensure the driver is made aware of a potential hazard."
The technology could eventually be used with self-driving cars as well. There will be scenarios when an autonomous vehicle must give control of the car back to a human driver. Before that happens, it must be determined that the driver is alert and capable of safely resuming control of the vehicle, such as with self-driving long-haul commercial trucks. It’s another safeguard that, hopefully, will make driving safer.
