AUTOMOTIVE
Driving under the watchful eye of vision
Driver monitoring systems are to become compulsory in all new passenger vehicles from 2024. Ben Townsend explores the vision tech enabling them
B
y next year, you may have a new passenger in your car – a driver monitoring system (DMS). In a
push to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on the road, the General Safety Regulation (GSR) has said that all new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (e.g. pick-up trucks and vans) sold in the European Union (EU) must have a DMS installed by 2024. Te EU is the first to implement such
legislation, but other parts of the world aren’t too far behind. Despite not making it through the Senate, the US House of Representatives passed the Moving Forward Act in 2020, which aimed to install a DMS in all new vehicles with automated features. In 2018, the province of Jiangsu in China made DMS mandatory in long-haul trucks and vehicles transporting hazardous materials. Clearly, DMS is making ripples in governments – a sign of the times to come. Te clue’s in the name with driver
monitoring systems – they’re designed to monitor a driver’s behaviour and body language, alerting if they show signs of drowsiness or distraction. Using a series of cameras and sensors, as
well as facial recognition, head positioning, and eye-tracking technology, these systems aim to reduce the number of accidents caused by driver error. In turn, alerts are also intended to encourage safer driving habits, as well as extend vehicle lifespan by reducing accidents. Tat’s why the photonics industry is
jumping on the chance to develop DMS before the market goes full throttle.
VCSEL-based DMS Optical solutions provider Ams Osram is one of these companies – it has launched
Using a series of cameras and sensors, as well as facial recognition, head positioning and eye tracking technology, driver monitoring systems (DMS) aim to reduce the number of accidents caused by driver error
several driver-monitoring technologies over the past couple of years. Speaking to Imaging and Machine
Vision Europe at the recent Laser World of Photonics exhibition in Munich, Director of Global Marketing at Ams Osram, Martin Wittmann, said: “We’re seeing more and more sensing and monitoring happening in the car for autonomous driving, but also for applications like driver monitoring – monitoring alertness – which is pending legislation to enter the market.” He added: “We’re excited about these
applications because they improve road safety and will hopefully lead to fewer fatalities. Tey do something really good for the world. Whether you’re looking or talking on your phone, eating, or just sleeping, the driver monitoring system will know what’s going on and alert you.” One of these technologies from Ams Osram is the TARA2000-AUT-SAFE, a
24 IMAGING AND MACHINE VISION EUROPE AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023
‘All new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles sold in the EU must have a DMS installed by 2024’
vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) emitting a controlled beam of infrared light at 940nm, designed for driver monitoring, gesture sensing, and interior cabin monitoring. Te company says it offers a more reliable eye safety feature than existing automotive VCSEL modules, and mass production is planned for 2024, in step with the EU regulation. “Te nice thing about this technology,”
Wittmann said, “is that it can shape and distribute laser light. It can see if the driver is wearing their safety belt, as well as how often people are blinking or if they’re responding. It can even tell if they’re looking outside the car.” Wittmann added: “Tere are two different solutions: you can either use our traditional
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Ams Osram
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