Mazda, an automobile manufacturer, will sell a car equipped with a system that automatically stops when the driver suddenly feels ill from next year.
This system uses a camera installed in the car to grasp the driver's eye movements and head position, and if it determines that something is wrong, such as falling asleep or suddenly losing consciousness, it first notifies with an alarm sound.
If the driver does not respond, the driver will sound a horn or blink a hazard to notify the surrounding vehicles of the abnormality and switch to autonomous driving, stop on the shoulder of the highway, and gradually on general roads. Decelerate and stop.
Mazda plans to sell cars equipped with this system from next year.
In addition, the company is studying the movement of the line of sight and is developing a system to detect signs of loss of consciousness due to sudden illness.
Takahiro Tochioka, chief of Mazda's Product Strategy Headquarters, said, "In the unlikely event that something happens, the car will help people and the driver will be able to drive with peace of mind."
Regarding these technologies, Honda has introduced them in some car models, and Hino Motors has begun to install them on buses, and competition for the development of technologies that support unforeseen circumstances such as poor driver's physical condition is intensifying. ..