Do Not Call: Stressed-out driver on board!

It’s Gitex 2012, and that’s where sci-fi meets reality. 

In a media statement issued at Gitex this morning, Ford Motor said that its research and innovation labs are developing ways to help the driver stay focused in busy situations by intelligently managing incoming communications through the car’s own intelligence. 

In simpler words, your car will soon be able to gauge your stress levels and block incoming calls if it deems that you may get too distracted to safely drive at that point in time. 

Interested? Read on. 

Ford says that its ‘intelligent’ system will sense the road conditions – the amount of traffic congestion, whether it is an erratic or smooth drive, etc. – and combine it with in-cabin analytics that will gauge the driver’s pulse rate, temperature, etc. to judge whether or not it is a good time to allow an incoming call through the car’s Bluetooth system. 

Is it possible? You bet, says Ford. 

“Data from the sensing systems of driver-assist technologies can be used to determine the amount of external demand and workload upon a driver at any given time including traffic and road conditions. In addition, Ford continues its health and wellness research with the development of a biometric seat, seat belt and steering wheel that can monitor the condition of the driver to help add an even more specific estimate of the driver’s state of being,” it says in a statement. 

But how do you estimate road conditions – they don’t stay exactly the same every 10 metres or so, do they? Then how is it possible to analyse their impact on the driver? 

“The driver workload estimator is an algorithm using real-time data from existing sensors such as radar and cameras combined with input from the driver’s use of the throttle, brakes and steering wheel. The result is an intelligent system enabling management of in-vehicle communications based on the assessed workload of the driving situation,” the automaker says. 

“For example, the side-looking radar sensors used for the [detection of blind spots] and the forward-looking camera for [keeping the car in a lane] are on watch even when there is no active warning provided to the driver. These signals could indicate there is a significant amount of traffic in the lane that you are merging into while entering a highway,” it adds. 

“Combine that knowledge with the fact that the driver has increased throttle pedal pressure to speed up, and the workload estimate could be high enough to determine it isn’t a very good time for an incoming phone call to ring inside the cabin,” Ford says. 

No more calls then? “The car could intelligently apply the already available ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature, helping the driver stay focused on the road during the high-demand situation,” it explains. 

But how does the car monitor the driver’s wellness? “In addition to using existing vehicle data to estimate demand on the driver, Ford is researching ways to get an even better understanding of a driver’s stress level by monitoring driver biometric or health information,”

the company says. 

“Turning new biometric sensors towards the driver will help create a more complete picture of the driver workload. The research team has built a biometric seating buck to test a number of different sensors and gather data on how drivers respond to a variety of inputs for a driver behaviour model. 

“The experimental system which is also on show at Dubai’s GITEX Technology Week adds several sensors to the steering wheel rim and spokes to get more detailed driver information. Anyone who has used modern exercise equipment like treadmills and stair climbers will be familiar with the metal pads on the rim that can be used to measure the driver’s heart rate. 

“Infrared sensors on the steering wheel monitor the palms of a driver’s hands as well as his or her face looking for changes in temperature. A downward-looking infrared sensor under the steering column measures the cabin temperature to provide a baseline for comparing changes in the driver’s temperature. The final sensor is embedded in the seat belt to assess the driver’s breathing rate. 

“With a more complete picture of the driver’s health and wellness blended with knowledge of what is happening outside the vehicle, the car will have the intelligence to dynamically adjust the alerts provided to the driver and filter interruptions. With the driver occupied in heavy traffic, the vehicle control system could increase the warning times for forward collision alerts and automatically filter out phone calls and messages, allowing the driver more time to respond. On the other hand, an alert driver on an open highway could receive incoming calls.”