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Seeing Machines says regulatory developments support case for driver monitoring systems

Published: 09:11 24 Oct 2017 BST

Tesla Model S
Prolonged driver disengagement from the driving task reportedly contributed to the accident

Seeing Machines Limited (LON:SEE) is talking to a growing number of car industry players as interest in its FOVIO driver monitoring systems (DMS) technology increases.

The company issued a stock market announcement today noting several industry trends that support its belief that driver monitoring systems are set to become an integral part of car design, even as the move towards so-called driverless cars gains momentum.

READ: Seeing Machines experiencing "relentless drumbeat of interest" in its driver monitoring technology

Euro NCAP, the industry body in Europe that is responsible for vehicle safety ratings and testing, has set a timeline for installation of DMS in cars, and the deadline is approaching quickly, Seeing Machines said.

In Euro NCAP’s "In Pursuit of Vision Zero" Roadmap 2025 document, which envisages nothing less than an end to car crashes, driver monitoring was cited as a primary safety feature, targeted by 2020 for new on-road vehicles.

Euro NCAP "envisages an incentive for driver monitoring systems that effectively detect impaired and distracted driving and give appropriate warning and take effective action", Seeing Machines noted.

The roadmap goes further in stating that existing advanced driver assistance safety systems can be enhanced by adapting intervention criteria specifically to the driver's dynamic state and further stated that even though it has yet to publish its full guidelines for highly autonomous vehicles ratings, DMS will be required there also. 

READ: Seeing Machines boss spies huge opportunity in the automotive market

A lot of people have concerns about the move to semi-autonomous vehicles that feature an “autopilot” mode, and those concerns were heightened after the well-publicised fatal accident in 2016 involving a Tesla Model S that was operating on autopilot.

The US National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation into the accident concluded that over reliance on the autopilot feature plus prolonged driver disengagement from the driving task contributed to the accident.

Several specific safety recommendations were issued in NTSB's report, for design of semi-autonomous vehicles, including the adoption of more effective monitoring of driver attention, commensurate with the capability level of the automated driving system. This included a specific safety recommendation to manufacturers of Level 2 capable vehicles to "develop applications to more effectively sense the driver's level of engagement and alert the driver when engagement is lacking while automated vehicle control systems are in use."

READ: Seeing Machines' FOVIO driver monitoring system makes its debut in the Cadillac CT6

These recommendations play right to Seeing Machines’ strengths.

"The Euro NCAP 2025 Roadmap and NTSB report are both very material to our business as they are indicative of a rapidly growing demand for Driver Monitoring Systems,” said Nick DiFiore, general manager of Automotive at Seeing Machines.

“The two announcements together reinforce the view that DMS technology is crucial to a safe transition to hands-free driving, as our technology already demonstrates in the recently launched Cadillac CT6 Super Cruise system. Furthermore, the Euro NCAP roadmap cements the probability that DMS will be adopted in a relatively short timeframe by manufacturers who seek top safety ratings for their vehicles as well as enhancing ADAS [Advanced Driver Assistance] systems to help make human drivers better drivers," he added.

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on 13/2/24