Harman, a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, which specializes in the development of technologies for connected cars and other IT solutions, unveiled at the CES exhibition in Las Vegas, a system designed to improve the health and safety of the driver and passengers in vehicles.
The ReadyCare solution includes, among other things, a driver monitoring system (DMS) that uses, among other things, cameras and radar – without physical contact – that can accurately measure the driver’s heart rate and breathing, data that can help identify abnormalities in his health and can even distinguish whether the mind of The driver is distracted from the road, the degree of his fatigue and his concentration on the road.
The system was developed by the Israeli company CAARESYS, a pioneer of radar sensors in driver’s cabins, which was recently acquired by Harman and is currently part of the company’s ADAS/AD division.
According to Ilya Slovats, former co-founder and CEO of CAARESYS and currently director of the ADAS (advanced vehicle assistance systems) division of Harman Israel, depending on the driver’s diagnosis, the system can activate a series of proactive stimuli, such as increasing the music volume – inside the vehicle – that will bring the driver back for normal driving.
“The technology we have developed even offers compatibility with several navigation engines and provides an alternative choice for an especially busy route in the form of a more ‘calm’ route, which reduces increased stress levels of the driver while he is on the road. By identifying stress factors in real time such as traffic jams, or weather and adjusting the route accordingly, the solution will help reduce the stress or anxiety of the driver,” explains Slootz.
The company did not specify which manufacturers intend to integrate the new system, but at the North American Auto Show not long ago BMW presented the technology when it was integrated into its car.