Down the road, the Jaguar Land Rover could read your mind
Jaguar Land Rover is researching advanced safety technologies to help make the roads safer, including brain wave monitoring to prevent distracted driving.
The company announced this week it is developing something called Mind Sense, which aims to monitor driver's brain waves in an effort to keep them focused behind the wheel.
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The technology would use sensors in the steering wheel to scan the driver's brain waves, determining if they are tired or distracted. If the car notices the driver isn't focused, it can give an audiovisual or tactile warning — or both.
Jaguar isn't the only company to attempt to combat distracted driving via active safety systems, but it is the first to embrace brain wave scanning to do so. Mercedes-Benz offers Attention Assist, which monitors your driving characteristics and outside conditions to determine if you're distracted. Meanwhile, Lexus' Driver Attention Monitoring uses small cameras to see if you're looking away from the road or have your eyes closed. Other automakers offer variations on a similar theme.
Distracted driving is a huge problem in the United States. The U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2013 that 3,154 were killed and 424,000 were injured in accidents involving a distracted driver in the U.S. alone.
Passive safety systems like exterior crash protection and airbags can't really do much about distracted or tired driving, so clever active safety systems become necessary.
Passive safety systems like exterior crash protection and airbags can't really do much about distracted or tired driving, so clever active safety systems become necessary.
That said, it's unclear when and even if JLR would put this technology into production. The company clearly likes to show off shoot for the moon ideas and then never mention them again after the initial press releases.
Jaguar also highlighted some of the other car technology in development. A Wellness Seat, which can monitor the driver's heartbeat and breathing patterns, is being currently tested. It would be employed as cars become more autonomous and used to determine if the driver is in adequate condition to take over controlling the car's functions. It could also help reduce driver stress by adjusting the temperature and the lighting in the car.
Additionally, Jaguar is developing a predictive touch screen that will try to guess what button the driver will press, meaning they wouldn't need to take their eyes off the road. Haptic pedals, which could give drivers tactile feedback if they're driving too fast or too slow, are also in the works.
While some of these technologies may seem like stretches into the future, these concepts could potentially help save lives.
