If someone told you about the idea of an anthropomorphic car a few years ago you would have said "what?" Carrie, KITT and even Herbie the Love Bug made audiences fall in love with their ability to talk back to their drivers. Now, in-vehicle infotainment systems have revolutionized the connection between man and machine that was once thought as something that is too science-fiction to be reality.
So what's the next logical step in this progression? Everyone knows that their GPS speaks out directions and turns, but always with the same monotone female voice. Now that vehicles can talk back, why not add a little emotion into the mix? Specifically, Toyota is working on a new system that can detect the mood of a driver, in order to calculate their risk on the road and execute any proper safety percautions that may be necessary.
We at Shore Toyota admit that the sound of a car knowing a drivers mood seems pretty farfetched. But let's not forget that it was only ten years ago that the idea of in-vehicle infotainment seemed equally improbable. In other words, technology moves fast, and Toyota already has a proof of concept in the works.
Specifically, the new system works by actively monitoring 238 facial points that are examined by a camera facing the driver. After crunching some numbers on each point, the system can then predict what sort of mental state the driver is in. If they're overly stressed, it can pre-activate accident avoidance systems in order to compensate for lost reaction time. If they're distracted, it can give them a gentle reminder to stay focused on the road. And finally, if the driver is checking to the left, but an obstruction comes in on the right, the system can inform them.
Shore Toyota, located at 4236 Black Horse Pike Mays Landing, NJ 08330, looks forward to seeing this technology implemented in the near future, and invites you to stay tuned for more information on it as it becomes available.
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