Future in-car biometrics could detect drunk-driving or a heart attack
Beyond drunk-driving: what happened to the promise of the car-as-a-hospital?
Every day,29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashesthat involve drunk-driving. But it’s not the first time, technology has been deployed to monitor driver health. About ten years ago, car OEMs were flirting with the idea of embeddingbiometric sensorsin vehicles that can monitor or detect underlying health problems affecting the driver.
In 2011, Ford createda pilot with medical device manufacturer Medtronicto allow Ford SYNC® software to connect via Bluetooth to a Medtronic continuous glucose monitoring device and share glucose levels and trends through audio alerts and visual displays.
Diabetesis a health condition that has long interested tech companies. Low glucose levels can cause people with diabetes driving a car to lose consciousness and, according to research, arebehind 20% of car crashes. The in-car health software also enables drivers to monitor sudden temperature changes, pollen levels, and pollution in the air, triggering asthma attacks in many people with asthma.
Ford also worked with Aachen University in Germany to create ECG sensors that could monitor heart health. In practice, such a system could warn a driver to pull over or alert emergency vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle communication. In the case of an autonomous vehicle, the car could even reroute its map to drive to the nearest hospital.
The same year BMW was supporting researchers at Technische Universitaet Muenchen to createsmart steering wheelsthat monitor stress via heart rate and oxygen saturation levels.
But none of these ideas gained commercial traction. Was it due to the cost of rollout? There’s also the issue of medical accuracy challenges, and the challenges of HIPPA, data privacy, and what these metrics could mean for driver car insurance premiums. Still, it’s foreseeable interest will persist, perhaps with a partnership with wearable health tech.
Can your car detect COVID-19?
In Israel,UVEYEhas developedcontact-free, emergency-vehicle inspection systems. They recognized that helath providers could use their infrared thermal imaging technology to detect body temperatures from a distance of several meters or more.
This could help healthcare professionals rapidly identify individuals who might require additionalCOVID-19testing or treatment. The company equipped health-related fleet operators with the equipment on a not-for-profit basis.
The drunk-driving billrequires the U.S. Transportation Department to set a technology safety standard within three years – and gives automakers at least another two years to comply.
There are many startups and researchers in the breathalyzer and greater biometric-testing space.The technology has evolved significantly since the early 2010’s, especially through advancements in machine learning, and we can expect renewed interest with OEMs to deliver more offerings in the next few years.
Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?
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Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin. She focuses on all things mobility: ebikes, autonomous vehicles, VTOL, smart ci(show all)Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin. She focuses on all things mobility: ebikes, autonomous vehicles, VTOL, smart cities, and the future of alternative energy sources like electric batteries, solar, and hydrogen.
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