Monday, March 12th, 2007
Smart seat detects tired drivers, Redbull shares plummit
University of Tokyo researchers have developed a smart car seat that can detect when you are about to fall asleep at the wheel. Focusing on pulse and respiration, pressure sensors embedded in the seat detect these changes even with bulky clothing and without the need for physical contact with the drivers skin. While all fine and dandy, the system doesn’t have an alarm system built in to alert you to your impending accident, although they expect it to be commercially accessable within 5 years. In the mean time, maybe Redbull should offer to hardcode the chairs with a GPS unit that alerts drivers to the nearest Redbull-stocked vendor.