SPY cameras mounted in car dashboards could warn drivers when they risk killing other peopleor themselvesby falling asleep at the wheel. The system, which uses eye-tracking technology, can also warn motorists when they are not paying enough attention to the road ahead.
According to Britain's Automobile Association, 1 in 10 deaths on Britain's roads are caused by drivers falling asleep. The new system, called Facelab, could help reduce the carnage, claims Alex Zelinsky, chief executive of Seeing Machines, a spin-off from research at the Australian National University in Canberra. Facelab's development was sponsored by Volvo.
The problem with other eye-tracking technologies is that they either involve cumbersome headgear or are incapable of dealing with real-world situations, such as when the eyes are momentarily obscured. "This system deals with that," says Zelinsky.
Facelab's two cameras continuously monitor the positions of facial features such as the ears, nose and chin. The system ...
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