You may think you can outsmart the road authorities, but soon it won’t just be their speed cameras keeping an eye on your driving. General Motors is set to become the first car manufacturer to install eye-tracking technology in its vehicles, according to a recent report. The feature will allow cars to track drivers’ eye movements to ensure they keep their attention on the road. GM will install around half a million cars with eye-tracking devices over the next three to five years, according to unnamed sources speaking to the Financial Times.
The Detroit car manufacturer is using technology made by Seeing Machines, a Canberra-based company who specializes in driver fatigue technology. Cameras fitted in the cars will be backed by algorithms that can identify features of drivers’ faces. The technology will then impose this information on a three-dimensional map of the interior of the car to determine what the driver is looking at. It will also be able to measure the rotation of the head so they can alert drivers if they are not spending enough time looking in areas such as the rear-view mirror. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one of every ten fatal crashes in the US involves distraction. As well as safety, the technology could allow drivers to communicate with their cars, without having to press a button or turn the wheel. However, it could raise privacy issues over how manufacturers and insurers deal with the data.
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