New research car will watch you while you drive

We're not sure if we like the idea of our car watching us as we drive, but we'll all in favor of any tech that'll make us safer. This past week at the Intelligent Transportation Systems exhibition in London, a new set of cameras mounted on the dashboard in a prototype vehicle will make sure that a driver's attention is focused on the road. According to MotorAuthority, the new cameras will be trained on the driver's eyes and will flash a warning light and will sound an alarm if it finds that the driver's eyes aren't staring at the right places at the right times. Furthermore, as New Scientist reports, these new sensors -- developed by researchers at University of Southampton in the UK-- are also able to determine what other cars and objects around the car are doing, all of which could lead to safer road design and a more thorough understanding of driving behavior.

Read - MotorAuthority
Read - New Scientist

[tinkafoo @ Oct 14th 2006 9:59AM]

If it doesn't prevent my passengers from backseat driving, it's useless to me.

[OPTICAL OUT PLEASE @ Oct 14th 2006 10:42AM]

wtf? .. couldnt they make the cameras less obvious; if you want to watch people's natural behaviour it helps that there are not two cameras pointed right at them all the time.

[lifesux @ Oct 14th 2006 12:01PM]

that's scary man, those two cameras look like machine guns.

[ET @ Oct 14th 2006 12:23PM]

That's nice and obtrusive. Wonder if it will record the footage of me crashing b/c the cameras obstructed my view...

[Mrfreezie @ Oct 14th 2006 12:24PM]

Big Brother is watching... Big brother is always watching..

[Edward K. @ Oct 14th 2006 12:45PM]

um this isn't new

Volvo has been doing this for years

[oo7ev @ Oct 14th 2006 3:27PM]

They have been doing this in the US for while too. The trick is compiling all the video data with other data to make solid results to improve vehicle, highways etc.

At my university they have a big simulator with a Saturn that has the same technology of tracking your eyes while you drive. you also pay you to get drunk and drive it, not a bad gig.

[Tom @ Oct 14th 2006 4:39PM]

*driving semi truck for 8 hours at night*

But I just... wanna... no... but can't I just... rest my... rest my eyes...

DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER! *alarm*

[AGuy @ Oct 14th 2006 5:50PM]

Why don't they make the cameras watch the road instead? Geniuses.

[yehsure @ Oct 14th 2006 6:58PM]

London eh? then why is this photo of a car with the steering wheel on the Left hand side, when England has cars with the steering wheel on the right?

yehsure

[sideshow_raheem @ Oct 14th 2006 7:23PM]

yeah great idea, i'm sure those tapes wont get into the hands of your insurance company, they'll raise your rates $200 a year because took your eyes of the road to take your Justin Timberlake disc out the cd player............uh i mean your METALLICA disc.

[pagercam @ Oct 14th 2006 9:19PM]

I for one, welcome our robot, driving monitor overlords!!

[koninc @ Oct 14th 2006 11:08PM]

This isn't new. These guys are using this "faceLAB" system: http://www.seeingmachines.com

[JuanJohn @ Oct 15th 2006 5:01AM]

oo7ev @ Oct 14th 2006 3:27PM

They have been doing this in the US for while too. The trick is compiling all the video data with other data to make solid results to improve vehicle, highways etc.

At my university they have a big simulator with a Saturn that has the same technology of tracking your eyes while you drive. you also pay you to get drunk and drive it, not a bad gig.


SO I can get paid to drive drunk?? You have got to tell me what university it is cause I sense a road trip!!

[Michael @ Oct 15th 2006 10:57AM]

This is the first I've heard of it, but apparently it has been goin' on for a while...

I agree with Optical Out though. If you shave two honkin' cameras in my face like that, of course I'm going to be looking straight ahead...in a deer-in-headlights like fashion, perhaps.

[Michael @ Oct 15th 2006 11:01AM]

ROFL! If you 'shave'? Oh boy, I need to not post this early in the morning.

Yes, I know it's 11 o'clock. It's a Sunday, and I'm hungry. o.o'

Also....I bet what M. Lateef had to say was interesting, but I can't read...I'm guessing thats Dutch, German, or a close relative of them, but I'm no linguistics expert. Can anyone help with that?

[Jeff Allen @ Oct 15th 2006 1:25PM]

I LOVE TONI RICCA.

[Dr Chaos @ Oct 15th 2006 4:59PM]

holy crap, its the poor man's american idol/pop idol