Fujitsu's in-car safety tech senses drowsiness, reacts to wake you up

Not that we haven't seen similar technology from other outfits before, but we'll take as many in-car safety advancements as we can get. It's bruited that Fujitsu is conjuring up a sophisticated sensor system that can actually detect when a driver gets drowsy or begins to sink into a deep, dark wonder-world of sleep. Put simply, the system would detect specific changes in the motorist's heart rate via the steering wheel, and once it determined that you weren't exactly "with it" any longer, the car could then roll its own windows down, blast the stereo or jolt the wheel in order to get your attention. In our minds, the biggest issue here is to not cause an accident by spooking a sleepy driver out of their slumber, and we presume that's exactly what the company is working on in its R&D labs.

[Image courtesy of MetroHealth]

[iEye @ Nov 7th 2008 10:19AM]

Good option, as it is quite a dangerous situation when someone falls asleep at the wheel. But why not just go to thefinal solutiona and just make the car drive itself!

[tom @ Nov 7th 2008 10:44AM]

I don't need this. I have a girl friend sitting next to me that will yelling and screaming for every traffic violations i made. =(

[Andad @ Nov 7th 2008 12:33PM]

I try to avoid referencing the "final solution" when describing anything. Usually gets what ever you're supporting an instant bad rap.

[Ignatius @ Nov 7th 2008 4:11PM]

I'm starting to wonder if women who are in the passenger seat are deadset on getting into an accident, as they feel the need to scare the hell out of you every five seconds with something inane.

[buzaw0nk @ Nov 7th 2008 10:26AM]

President Obama, wake up! You're driving! WAKE UP! Oh wait, you're not Barry, your ears are too small...

[strider_mt2k @ Nov 7th 2008 10:29AM]

Shhh.

He's had a big day.

[fieldcar @ Nov 7th 2008 10:30AM]

lol, i saw the same thing... I wonder if mccain can drive a car with his arms being like they are.

[inteller @ Nov 7th 2008 2:05PM]

no, that's Lewis Hamilton in a practice session. for the actual race he will nod his head back.

[tom @ Nov 7th 2008 10:27AM]

The similar technology is already available on the Volvos, it is a feature called Driver Alert Control.

[frankXchange @ Nov 7th 2008 10:36AM]

My car already tries to wake me up by careening across the highway. In truth it did happen once. I pulled over and tried to sleep, but my heart was racing too fast.

I second the vote for automated driving. I think that most of the components are there, and that what is required is some leadership - establishing a plan, standards, protocols, etc. With an ageing population behind the wheel, this is a priority!

[Retro @ Nov 7th 2008 10:52AM]

Scariest thing I ever did was fall asleep (briefly) on the Interstate with my wife and two daughters. Thank God for those rumble strips on the side of the road.

[jabber @ Nov 7th 2008 2:24PM]

Scariest time I've ever experienced this I was on my way to Florida with three friends, and I woke up reclined in the passenger seat and looked in the back at my two friends who were sleeping, then glanced at the driver, who also happened to be sleeping. We drifted off into the shoulder and were on the right side of a semi that was in the right lane. When the driver woke up, the car was off- which can only lead me to believe that while he was asleep his foot pushed the accelerator and took us up past 110 mph where the fuel line cut off on my '94 Accord.

And then 2 hrs. later my friend got a $135 speeding ticket. The "We'll split any tickets four ways" agreement was hastily broken up due to the circumstances...

[jfherring @ Nov 7th 2008 11:44AM]

Nice use of "bruited". New to me, thanks.

[Unique Gift Ideas @ Nov 7th 2008 11:46AM]

I have briefly fallen asleep at the wheel before, and like the OP above said, I didn't start swerving my car which caused me to run off the road, until I woke up and realized I fell asleep. It was really strange, but as soon as I woke up my immediate reaction was to start swerving because I thought that I was going to wreck my car. So yeah, figuring out how to wake the driver up but not enough to startle them and make them crash is going to be a tough obstacle for car developers to overcome.

[TrafficGeek @ Nov 7th 2008 12:19PM]

He's not falling asleep! He's looking at the person polishing his knob!

What an annoying system!

[Valicore @ Nov 7th 2008 12:20PM]

Yeah, using a lot of flashing red lights and a "Wake up or die, wake up or die, alert, alert" voice might cause distress.

[Anthony @ Nov 7th 2008 12:22PM]

oh look .... its OBAMA !

[absinthe party @ Nov 7th 2008 12:34PM]

Isn't there some company making ear attachments to wake your sleepy ass up when your head tilts down at a certain angle? I'm pretty positve that Engadget covered it, but I'm too lazy to look back.

[matefrio @ Nov 7th 2008 1:31PM]

now my car can testify against me in a court of law as an impartial witness, by monitoring my hart rate, if I was in an accident or a cold blooded killer.

[ClydeSeal @ Nov 7th 2008 2:30PM]

If you want safe drivers. Take out the airbags in cars, and put in a machete aimed straight at their neck.

[Wwhat @ Nov 7th 2008 3:00PM]

Would it not be more useful/semsible if it quietly steered the car to the side of the road and turned off the engine and waited until you were done sleeping?

[Eric @ Nov 7th 2008 3:25PM]

I hope to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather.


Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in the car he was driving.

[Valicore @ Nov 7th 2008 4:01PM]

That's really horrible and shamefully funny at the same time.

[AL @ Nov 7th 2008 5:28PM]

Although these safety features are welcome, we should putting more into driver education to stop us getting into these situations. I figure that if something like this was available, more people might just say "let's drive longer, if I fall asleep, the car will fix that" (then you get some 5 page moronic advice in the car manual advising not to rely on the sleep sensor). Having a driver's license is a privilege, not a right. Too many people on the road just don't have the ability to handle a 1500kg machine at speed with others - we need to make sure that you can handle any situation, not just drive on suburban streets to the shop and back.

[I'll think of name later. @ Nov 8th 2008 5:49AM]

would be better imo to have the car slow down glacefully (putting the brake lights on, and maybe the double flashers) and stop the engine, without changing course. then the driver would be safe and he or she would wake up as soon as the other drivers started honking or an officer knocked on the window to ask them wtf they were doing in the middle of the lane?