InterCore, Inc. (ICOR) has concluded a pilot program for its Driver Alertness Detection System (DADS), and is ready to roll it out into the market. The company is aiming its platform primarily at insurance companies, for whom it says DADS could save “millions of dollars in claims.”
DADS is a biometric system that monitors drivers for signs of the loss of alertness associated with fatigue and exhaustion. Based on a video monitoring system, DADS monitors 524 different points on the driver’s head, particularly on their face and eyes. When the driver shows signs that his or her alertness level is dropping, the system sends alerts to designated third parties (for example, a dispatch centre for a truck driver) so that they can arrange for the proper course of corrective action. The company says that DADS is unique for its predictive capabilities; other alertness-monitoring systems are generally reactive, kicking into gear once the driver is already making mistakes, whereas ICOS claims DADS can detect drops in alertness up to two hours before the driver begins to make real mistakes.
We can expect to see more systems like this as biometric technology advances. Fujistu, for example, has been developing a similar system that would be embedded in steering wheels to monitor driver’s alertness levels through biometric signals in their palms. More generally, as the smart car begins to emerge onto roads everywhere, voice biometric technology will be used to identify drivers and personalize their experiences – and probably, going forward, in a number of ways that we haven’t yet imagined.
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