In the day and age of fast cars and increased traffic congestions, driver monitoring is emerging to be essential that needs to be incorporated into driving assistance systems. Besides, driver fatigue and concentration levels tend to fluctuate after long periods of driving. Therefore, the need for integrating a top-notch mechanism that can monitor all aspects of a driver monitor feature automatically is significant. Such technologies contribute to the overall safety of the drivers, passengers and reduce road accidents significantly. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as the next-generation technology that can provide many of these features without hassles. While the integration of AI into a driving assistance system is not new as tech giants are constantly working on the concepts of an autonomous vehicle, there are several areas that AI can address conveniently. Intelligent driving assistance is already evident in the market, with modern car makers offering hi-tech automated assistance features. However, the evolution and acceptance of AI have led to driver monitoring’s future developments to make our roads safer alongside the safe driving options for all.

Essential Features of a Driver Monitoring System (DMS)

Driver Monitoring System (DMS) can address critical challenges that are the major causes of accidents in recent years. DMS holds the key to provide innovations to address many of these problems, from reckless drivers to drowsiness or distraction and security alerts.

Identification Alerts

During these times, when car theft has been prevalent, DMS can minimize such incidents. Additionally, cab services where numerous cases of unidentified individuals have been reported led to attacks, threats, physical assaults that led to severe damage to the reputation of some companies. Instead of relying on manual entry of driver’s identification key, DMS can provide detection of drivers who are designated to a specific vehicle. Such approaches ensure the accurate identification of the drivers and company management being alert when the vehicle is driven by unauthorized personnel.

Driver’s Drowsiness

Most drivers don’t like to take into consideration fatigue impacting their driving skills. Much like the seat belt warnings, DMS can be programmed to specifically provide drowsiness alerts such that drivers are forced to halt and take the much-needed rest, thereby ensuring passenger and driver safety.

Driver Distraction

While concentration is a boon for drivers, distractions are more likely to cause severe damages. DMS is yet again the solution as it can detect a driver’s attention and alert immediately with an audio alert to continue focusing on the road. Some of the distraction activities are the driver turning around to talk to the passenger in the backseat, using a mobile phone or adjusting makeup, smoking, and operating an entertainment system. This functionality could save an enormous amount of lives as there many road accidents due to lack of concentration.

Speed Alert Mechanism

The speed alert is another crucial feature of DMS. This feature alerts the driver when the vehicle is driven at very high speeds without much control on the road. It is evident that with the lane detection feature, the DMS can identify the control level of the driver at high speeds while monitoring the speed gauge and send alerts to slow down as the car is not maintaining the right balance and lane.

Real-Time Location Feed

With navigation features already available in a driving system, DMS can be incorporated to provide the person and the vehicle whereabouts to the close associates or family members at regular intervals.

Driver Emotion Detection

Perhaps, the possibility to detect human emotions by a driving assistance system was not envisioned by many. It is easier to track the driver’s eye movements, facial expressions, and overall body language with DMS. AI-driven DMS solutions can analyze driver’s behavior and take immediate precautionary measures to tackle the situation. If a driver is drowsy, the DMS can ask the driver to stop repetitive alerts or turn up the air conditioning to help a driver stay alert. Similarly, driver monitoring can detect anxiety or rage and suggest alternate solutions. In case of boredom, the system can switch on the music or suggest another route if a driver is anxious at an unfamiliar location.

Semi-Autonomous Driving Assistance

When a driver is fatigued, the AI can provide semi-driving assistance and pass over the control once the driver is vigilant. Although it will require far more experiments, it is likely to be integrated with some form in future driving assistance systems.

Visibility for Fleet Owners

Real-time notifications with video evidence could be uploaded and accessed from the cloud with mobile or web applications. The notifications can comprise driving reports, speed limits, driver alertness level, and driver behavior among several analytical reports that provide more visibility for fleet owners to maintain control over their drivers and services. Recent activities have suggested there have been numerous drivers and passengers getting into heated arguments or assault. Ensuring the visibility with driver reports can eliminate such cases and ensure a better cab service for passengers and drivers.

Existing Driver Monitoring Solutions

Bosch has developed an internal monitoring system for safety, comfort, and convenience for passengers and drivers alike. The system can detect driver distraction, signs of drowsiness, including scanning passengers to identify if a child has been left behind. Safety alerts such as seat belt alerts are enhanced with their offering. Besides, there is also a provision for innovative interactions with gesture control for the entertainment systems’ distraction-free operation.

Nviso provides an artificial intelligence solution for an internal driver monitoring system. The solution has enhanced cognitive functions that can make driving a safer and more personalized experience. The state-of-the-art driver monitoring system can detect distractions and drowsy drivers by accurately identifying the eye movement and head position to determine the attention and fatigue levels. Additionally, a biometric analysis helps identify occupants in a vehicle and ensures authorized personnel is boarding the vehicle for increased security. Finally, occupant profiling offerings since the passenger and driver’s emotional state provide a personalized experience to manage such scenarios effectively.

Mindtronic AI has developed a DMS including easy to use infotainment system for drivers. An inbuilt driving monitoring system ensures that the driver is not distracted and continuously monitors the driver’s fatigue levels. Besides, the DMS solution looks for signs of sudden illness such as heart attacks or reckless driving scenarios, based on which autonomous driving takes over for safety reasons.

Affectiva has developed an in-cabin sensing automotive AI solution that provides a deep understanding of cabin activities inside a vehicle. The solution can detect the driver’s emotional state, the state of occupants, and the cabin. Some of the key features include detecting drowsiness and distraction of a driver and understanding the mood levels. The technology can provide insights into when passengers are drowsy or asleep, understand the moods of the passenger and reactions, and personalize passenger engagement accordingly with selective content. Finally, the AI solution can detect the number of people inside the car and the occupancy of a child and personal objects in a vehicle.

Driver Monitoring is the Future Proof Smarter Driving Assistance System

The need for a safer approach to driving has been long-awaited. With a wide range of drivers on the street, it is essential to have better-personalized safety features to ensure a better driving experience. With increasing road accidents, it has become a priority for car manufactures to provide top-of-the-line safety features alongside driver assistance systems. The consumers have evolved, and most buyers are on the lookout for advanced driving assistance technologies. The answer to addressing the majority of challenges that have been the cause of accidents, AI, with its cognitive abilities, becomes the ultimate solution. With immense automated capabilities, AI-based DMS is the future driving assistance that consumers have long-awaited to have top-notch security and personalized experience for enriching the driving experience.