Another system is in the process of being incorporated by select European and North American automakers as an airbag suppression mechanism. The Head Tracking System (HTS) from Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) of Ontario, Canada, uses capacitive sensing technology, software algorithms, and signal processing to track an occupant’s head position in a vehicle in three dimensions in real time for dynamic airbag suppression. The HTS uses a transmitting electrode in the vehicle seat, an array of receiving electrodes mounted in a vehicle headliner above the seat, and embedded software that processes the capacitance data to track the occupant’s head position in real time.

The Future: Peace of Mind

Would you sleep better at night knowing exactly where your teen driver is, and how safely they’re driving? Now you can. IMS offers DriveSync™, a GPS-based unit that, when installed in the car, monitors and records the driver’s behavior: when, where, how far, how fast, and how aggressively a vehicle is being operated. The DriveSync key is removed from the main unit and plugged into a computer’s USB port, and the vehicle’s usage data is uploaded to a server, which processes the data and creates reports, route maps, and usage alerts. The results can be viewed from a password-protected Web site.

You also may sleep better knowing that Toyota and Nissan are both working on technologies that would detect if a driver were legally drunk. Toyota’s system uses sweat sensors in the steering wheel to detect high levels of alcohol in the driver’s bloodstream. The system uses a special camera to detect if the driver’s pupils are out of focus. In either case, the system would automatically shut down the vehicle, bringing a moving car slowly to a halt. Toyota’s technology is expected to be available in 2009. Nissan also is experimenting with breath alcohol devices to detect impaired motorists.