21 May 2012

A car that knows when you’re angry

by Megan Meagher

Toyota is creating a system wherein cars can assess the driver's mood and customize the car's reactive system as a result. With a sensor that plots 238 points on your face to detect facial expressions, the car knows when your mood has shifted and you are more accident-prone. When the car senses anger it signals the electronic alarm system at a higher level.

Via PSFK:

"A driver’s mood can greatly affect his or her performance on the road and spell the difference between an easy cruise or an accident-prone dash. Taking this universal behavior into careful consideration, leading Japanese automobile company Toyota is now developing an intelligent sensing system for cars that can assess a driver’s mood and subsequently customize the car’s reactive system in the face of an impending hazard.

The concept technology makes use of a camera that detects facial expressions by plotting 238 points on the face of a driver. If the technology senses anger based on your facial expressions, it will signal the electronic alarm system at a higher level. Senior manager Jonas Ambeck shared via WhatCar that the current, basic research should be complete within two to three years, and that some of the elements could start actual development within six years and may be combined with the smartphones of the future."

 

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toyota technology driving sensor innovation mood