As well as innovative technologies helping to make
our experience with cars easier and more
comfortable, there is constant research and
development going in to making our cars safer too.
Now a long way away from the humble air bag, car
safet y has developed to more intricate systems
including traction control, ABS (anti-lock braking
system) and even predictive emergenc y braking. To
help w ith v ision, cameras are replacing mirrors to
reduce blind spots, and new laser headlamp
technolog y is being piloted by German giants Audi
and BMW, which offers t w ice the illumination range
of LEDs for night driving. However, current schemes
being implemented inside a vehicle for increased
safety are even more fi nite then that: think seat belts
that have sensors embedded in them to monitor
breathing for signs of stress at the wheel, for example.
A nd, far from being a distant technolog y melded to
a w ild concept car, these safet y features are being
brought into mass production. As a case in point, the
US motor company Ford has released details of active
seats that can monitor your heart rate or blood sugar
levels, which can then call for medical help if the
readings become hazardous.Of course, the pinnacle of car safet y tech is being
piloted not by a car manufacturer, but a technolog y
giant: Google has long been experimenting with
autonomous systems, even testing its very own fully
autonomous vehicle on the roads of California., and
now even more places around the world.
Autonomous cars use an array of car-mounted
lasers, radars and cameras to successf ully travel
along a road, seen by some as more consistently
reliable than a human that can become distracted for
fatigued and make errors. A ll in all, there are many
safety benefi ts to autonomous cars.Safety tech
Evolving driver safety technology
Vehicle technology currently in testing monitors your health as well as your safety1
Drowsiness
A camera mounted on
the steering-wheel column
uses facial recognition
software to scan for
possible drowsiness.
Q LEXUS GS7
Detects
breathing
Sensors in the seat belt can
monitor breathing rates for
sign of stress or tiredness.
Q HARKEN SEATBELT TECH6
Brain waves
Sensors in the headrest
of a seat can record the
electrical activit y of the
brain of the driver.
Q NOT YET ON MARKET8
Smartphone
cutoff
If the driver health
technology senses the
driver is becoming too
stressed, the system can
block access to a
smartphone, to ensure the
driver remains in a state of
concentration on the road.
Q NOT YET ON MARKET3
Glucose level
monitoring
A n integrated app can keep
an eye on glucose levels,
alerting diabetics to
signifi cant changes in their
bloodsugar levels.
Q FORD FOCUS S-MAX2
Seat air bags
Additional air bags are
mounted in seats, offering
greater protection in the
event of a collision from a
variety of angles.
Q MERCEDES S-CLASS5
Sweat
Pads in the seat and
steering wheel keep an eye
on body temperature.
Q NOT YET ON MARKET4
Heart rate
monitoring
Electrodes in the seat can
monitor your heart and
trigger car safet y systems in
the event of an emergenc y.
Q FORD FOCUS S-MAXLAND