A car that can monitor your health as you drive has been developed

American Automobile giant Ford Motors has tested a vehicle that can monitor your health when you’re operating the vehicle. It can sense when a driver has seizure or is sleeping by sensing the temperature of the driver.

Pic: DailyMail

In the case of any of these situations, the vehicle takes over its operation and parks the vehicle to safety. Versions of this car have been tested in India and there are hopes that the sensor features will be available for consumers in the near future.

There are also plans for ‘car ambulance’ that will have medical sensors that could allow doctors to examine people remotely.

“Health applications are something that will be an amazing opportunity in car,’ Ford’s Chief Technology Director, Vijay Sankaran, explained to VentureBeat conference in San Francisco.

“In India we are testing functions where doctors can use onboard electronics to take basic diagnostics and transmit them back to a central location. The vehicle becomes a sort of mobile ambulance on wheels.”

“We’ve also thought about how we can help different conditions. For instance, we have tested sensors that can tell when people are having seizures to safely steer or park them. There are the ‘few too many drinks’ or the ‘drowsy’ application.”

These feats will be achieved by the use of smart seats, seat belts, and steering wheels which have sensors built in.

“Infrared sensors on the steering wheel monitor the palms of a driver’s hands as well as his or her face looking for changes in temperature,” a Ford spokesman said.

“A downward-looking infrared sensor under the steering column measures the cabin temperature to provide a baseline for comparing changes in the driver’s temperature.

“The final sensor is embedded in the seat belt to access the driver’s breathing rate.”

It has been predicted that driverless cars may be available in as early as a decade’s time.

However one thing I will personally like to consider is that there are many things that could cause a change in temperature apart from health conditions. For instance, bad news delivered to the driver could cause a sudden temperature or an unfaithful man whose escapades have just been discovered by his troublesome wife. We don’t yet know if there will be an option operating there vehicle manually if the driver is still conscious even while his temperature has increased.

Credit: DailyMail

Posted in Machines, technology