A revolution in the automotive industry. Cars will monitor driver fatigue

The car of the future will plan a route, arrange a service visit and serve as an office

According to the data of the Polish Road Safety Observatory ITS, that 10 percent accidents on motorways and every twelfth accident on expressways is the result of fatigue or falling asleep at the wheel. On the other hand, analyzes of the European Commission indicate that fatigue can be caused by up to 20 percent of people. accidents.

"One of the reasons for this is long and monotonous driving, which is conducive to losing concentration. It is estimated that driving a vehicle for several hours is comparable to driving after drinking alcohol. Paradoxically, the greater the fatigue, the six times greater the tendency of drivers to take the risk of continuing to drive" - ​​informs ITS, citing European ESRA research.

Change from mid-2022

Therefore, from mid-next year, all newly type-approved vehicles in the European Union will be equipped with detectors that monitor the driver's state of attention and warn of drowsiness or fatigue if necessary.

- This is the next step in the digital evolution of wheeled transport, which is to be safer and sustainable. Please note that with each generation of vehicles, there are more and more electronic assistants whose task is to ensure the safety not only of the driver and passengers, but also of other road users. This multiplicity of systems is gradually bringing us closer to self-driving vehicles, which will provide us with even greater protection, says Prof. Marcin Slezak.

SEE: Porsche will also have its own flying car. "Looks Like Batman's Vehicle"

Cars will monitor fatigue drivers

The Institute notes that such solutions are now optional equipment for many vehicles, and in some cases - in higher trim levels - standard.

"The system, by evaluating the movement of the steering wheel, checks whether the driver performs precise maneuvers and how often he corrects the driving path. It informs the driver about the potential threat by means of an audible signal and a text message - »time for a break«" - notes ITS. He adds that in the near future these systems will be enriched with cameras and optical sensors mounted in the vehicle cabin. Thanks to special algorithms, they will constantly watch over the driver's condition, tracking his eyesight and head movement.

Safety issues

ITS points out, however, that with the development of technology - including that detecting fatigue - there is a concern that their widespread use may be dangerous, including in the field of cybersecurity. "From a car taken over by a hacker, it will be possible to obtain, for example, images recorded by internal cameras" - we read.

- Therefore, it becomes important to protect cars from such a scenario before they hit the roads. Among other things, this issue is the subject of analyzes of the project "AV-PL-ROAD - Polish way to automate road transport", which we are implementing together with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Department of Transport of the Warsaw University of Technology - indicates Mikołaj Kruszewski from ITS.

SEE: NIK report. A million "electricians" by 2025. The chamber on the "unrealistic vision" of the government

Kruszewski adds that the results of this project "will be a kind of knowledge almanac on the safe implementation of modern vehicles in road traffic", also in terms of legal and cybersecurity aspects.

As ITS reminds - in accordance with EU assumptions - in addition to detectors that detect driver drowsiness and fatigue, vehicles will also have to have systems responsible for speed control, keeping the car on the lane and recording car parameters at the time of collision, i.e. the so-called black boxes. The regulations will come into force from mid-2022 and will apply to all new types of cars.

VIDEO: Tragedy on ul. Socrates. Judgment in the case of Krystian O.dk/PAPCadd more