Jabil and eyeSight have announced a partnership to develop ‘next-generation’ driver monitoring and gesture control solutions for automotive customers.
The monitoring technology checks the attentiveness of the driver in real-time, recognizing when they are not attentive or drowsy. In the video, the software alerts the driver through audio cues, although visual and sensory alerts could also be activated.
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“Jabil’s partnership with eyeSight supports automakers working to reduce accidents involving driver distraction,” said Jabil senior vice president, Lisa Bahash. “The accuracy, intelligence and efficiency of the system we’re developing will enable automakers to implement in-car sensing systems across all vehicle types.”
eyeSight shows how the face monitoring could be used in self-driving cars, as a way to alert the driver before heading into a urban zone. It could also establish whether the driver is attentive before moving off the highway.
This cautionary system is also used when the driver is drowsy, telling them to stop for a coffee break before a potential accident. It could automatically brake if the driver is not looking and a person is walking across the road.
Additional functionality for marketers is shown in the video, where the facial recognition takes the gender and age of the driver and offers nearby businesses.
“For years, eyeSight has been living and breathing computer vision and machine learning solutions, which are already deployed in millions of devices worldwide,” said Gideon Shmuel, CEO of eyeSight. “Most recently, eyeSight has been very focused on the in-car automotive market, and our partnership with Jabil will expand our joint solution to enhance the driver experience by offering tangible benefits like driver monitoring and personalization.”
eyeSight also wants to develop a ‘hands-free’ experience with gesture controls. A swipe to the right answers an incoming phone call, while a thumbs up approves one of the nearby businesses.
The combined hardware and software efforts should lead to a developed set of tools for automakers, although, we are yet to know of any major automaker that is working with the companies.
