New Harman Tech Aims To Monitor, Reduce Driver Distraction

Forbes

2 days ago

Images from Harman's Ready VISION QVUE and Ready Vision AR Solution, which project information on a ... More vehicle's windshield to keep the driver's eyes on the road.
Without having to look away from the road, a driver is presented with information and images ranging from road hazards to navigation cues to approaching pedestrians.
Another system uses the vehicle's connectivity to assist drivers anticipate road hazards, and still one more monitors whether a driver is actually paying attention to the road and even monitors the driver's heartbeat to detect his or her stress level.
They're all innovations from Harman, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., LTD, aimed at the ongoing issue of improving safety by reducing driver distraction and increasing awareness of road conditions.
Between the use of smartphones, operating infotainment systems and just conversing with other occupants, a driver's attention to the road is constantly being challenged.
'When we think about distraction, I hate the dirty word,' declared Bryan Reimer, founder, co-director advanced vehicle technologies consortium MIT AgeLab, during a briefing on research conducted with Toyota Motor Co.'s Collaborative Safety Research Center, last week. 'The reason I hate the dirty word is because we are 100% of the time distracted, whether you're listening to somebody, whether you're fidgeting and writing. We as humans, if our attention isn't devoted some places are continually, either externally, visibly or internally, thinking about something else, distracted by something.'
Automakers and suppliers are not distracted from tackling this issue. Automated driving systems such as General Motor Co.'s Super Cruise and Ford Motor Co.'s BlueCruise monitor driver attentiveness and sound warnings, give haptic feedback and even disengage if the driver is detected not paying attention to the road.
At a recent technology showcase at its Novi Experience Center in suburban Detroit, Harman demonstrated its suite of 'Ready' solutions for improving driver attentiveness.
Ready Vision QVUE and Ready Vision AR Solution uses a combination of very high definition modules tucked below the windshield, augmented reality and hands-free operation to provide drivers information and feedback without the need to look away from the road.
'The information is meant to be not distracting, but information that you need while you're on your ride,' said delivery manager Natalie Saline.
'When you have this, you don't need a cluster in your vehicle that's usually hidden behind your steering wheel a little hard to see. We're putting it within the field of view of the driver on the windshield,'' explained Luis Sagastume, senior manager, product development, during a demonstration. See the video below.
Harman's Ready Care system uses cameras, radar and even heart rate monitoring to track whether or not a driver is paying attention to the road.
'Sometimes your heart is beating faster, sometimes slower, and that's a good indicator that you're actually relaxed, like a stressed heart will be not a flat line here, but it will be a very steady line,' said product manager Marcus Futterlieb. 'So we're not just looking whether your eyes are on the road, but also if your mind is on the road.'
Harman Ready Care in-cabin monitoring system tracks driver distraction, drowsiness and stress ... More levels.
Using a vehicle's existing connectivity with, say, the 5G network, Harman's Ready Aware technology aims to improve a driver's situational awareness without requiring additional hardware such as sensors.
'It provides up to 15 type of alerts,' explained Amine Taleb, responsible for connectivity innovation. 'What we mean by alerts is what the driver is going to see in the dashboard. We call them event based alerts, like a disabled vehicle on the road.'
To show how all the Ready systems work in concert, they were installed in what the company calls its Auto One Car, demonstrated in the video below by senior marketing manager Ben Chung.
Most of Harman's technology is in some vehicles now, or will be soon.
Even with driver assistance technology and innovations aimed at reducing driver distraction to improve safety, MIT's Reimer admitted the battle to win drivers' complete attention is tough.
'Comparisons of non-driving related tasks between vehicles suggest that there is complex interplays with driver management system that aren't cohesively understood. They're not trivial. They're nuanced,' said Reimer. 'We've got to be thinking about, how do we manage what people want to do anyway, more effectively?'