Impaired-Driver Sensor Could Pave The Way for Safer Vehicles
The bipartisan infrastructure bill recently signed into law by President Joe Biden includes a requirement for automakers to install driver monitoring systems that detect intoxicated or impaired drivers. Current systems rely on cameras, which have limitations. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Electronic Materials have made heat-resistant, pressure-detecting sensors that, when attached to seats, can tell whether a driver is drowsy or has a sudden illness, signaling a future smart car to take action.
Most current drowsiness detection systems use an exterior, forward-looking camera to monitor lane position or sudden, exaggerated corrections. Others use an interior camera to check a driver's face or eyes for signs of nodding off. Camera-based systems, while useful, have drawbacks. For example, an exterior camera could be blocked by mud, and an interior camera could be less effective at night. Scientists have previously explored using piezoelectric sensors -- self-powered materials that accumulate an electrical charge in response to pressure -- for monitoring a driver's posture, which changes when a person falls asleep, has a sudden health emergency or is intoxicated.
