MassPrivateIGeneral Motors (govt. motors), the largest US auto manufacturer by sales, is preparing to launch the world’s first mass-produced cars with eye- and head-tracking technology that can tell whether drivers are distracted, according to people with knowledge of the plans.
Seeing Machines, an Australian group listed in London, has signed an agreement with safety-goods maker Takata to supply GM with tracking devices for up to 500,000 vehicles over the next three to five years.
The spying gadgets will start by measuring the rotation of the head so they can alert drivers if they are not spending enough time looking in certain areas such as the road ahead or the rear-view mirror.
“We’re excited about being part of the semi-autonomous and driverless future but Takata and Seeing Machines have a commitment to saving lives by making roads safer now,” says Ken Kroeger, Seeing Machines’ CEO. Of course they’re excited, it means huge profits at the expense of our privacy & civil rights!
“This system will save lives.” Harry ‘Red’ Conger, President Freeport-McMoRan Americas.
How many times have we heard this B.S.? Its always the same tired old song… WE’RE SPYING ON YOU FOR YOUR SAFETY!
“Safety doesn’t sell cars – sexy sells cars,” said Ken Kroeger, Seeing Machines’ chief executive.
“But once cameras are there, they can be expanded for other features and purposes.”
GM said it could not comment on future product plans.
Mr Kroeger said Seeing Machine’s equipment could eventually allow drivers to activate an app by simply looking at a certain point in the car and then touching a button on the steering-wheel. The devices could also be used to detect the identity of the driver as a guard against theft – or to stop a teenager using the family car after 10pm at night.
The technology raises significant privacy concerns over how manufacturers and insurers will store and handle the data, though Seeing Machines’ devices will not keep or transmit the information, at least initially.
Seeing Machines’ devices involve cameras backed by algorithms that can identify features of drivers’ faces, such as the rotation of the head and the frequency of eyelid blinks. It then imposes this information on a three-dimensional map of the interior of the car so it can tell to an accuracy of one degree what the driver is looking at.
The company is investing in technology that will be able to tell how hard a driver is thinking by monitoring the dilation of the pupils, and combines facial information with sensors for vital signs such as blood alcohol levels and heart rate.
Your car will be used against you if you’re suspected of drunk driving, don’t be surprised if police following behind you can access the device and arrest you for DWI. At the very least the data stored on the “Seeing Machines” will be used against you in numerous ways, speeding, impaired or distracted driving to name a few.
“The driverless car is coming. It’ll be here sooner than the flying car and more certainly than the jetpack although not as fast as the hype might lead you to believe. And it’s already created an exciting market for Seeing Machines and its new partner, Japanese safety giant Takata.” (Takata partnership RNS)
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e5787fea-30e9-11e4-8313-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3C9iEwaaG
http://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2014/09/gm-to-install-sensors-in-cars-that.html
This technology isn’t new. The monitoring of drivers’ eye movements was used decades ago to arrange the instruments on your dash board, and that’s why any make or model of car you buy will always have the speedometer close to the windshield, front and center.
Since we’ve known what distracts drivers for decades, I think they’re taking the technology a step further not to see what distracts you, but what interests you.
This device that monitors your eye movements, when combined with cameras on the outside of the vehicle, can produce information detailing everything you look at on the road.
“Hmm… driver “A” likes this billboard, and ignored that one. Driver “B” responded the same way. Driver “C” likes little boys. Is he electable?”
Gee that sun is awful bright, got to wear my sunglasses…
A little black paint or tape over the sensors or disconnect altogether. Disabling this kind of stuff will be a growth industry.
Time to invest in old, classic cars where you control it and not it controls you.