MIT creating a car that helps drivers make decisions
From the outside, it looks like any other vehicle parked in the lot next to the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
But open the doors and the black Volvo SUV turns into something out of science fiction. Minicameras and infrared lights mounted above the steering wheel monitor the driver's eye and eyelid movements. Wires stored in the console monitor the driver's heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration. A device in the trunk monitors lane drifting. Real-time data pops up on a backseat computer monitor, all of it stored on a hard drive in the trunk.
Researchers at the AgeLab are using the $1.5 million vehicle to determine how to meld existing technologies to create an "Aware Car," which will help drivers, particularly older drivers, be safer on the road, help automakers design safer cars, and perhaps give government officials a way to evaluate older drivers' competence behind the wheel.
Such a vehicle would perform better because it would know the driver's habits and could react when the driver alters those habits.
"Making technology more responsive to older drivers, makes it safer for all generations," said AgeLab director Joseph Coughlin. "The notion is driver well-being, a wellness approach to driving."
The lab is in the initial phase of the research, and the technologies probably won't be incorporated into vehicles for at least 25 years, said Bryan Reimer, one of the researchers working on the project. Eventually, Coughlin and Reimer hope, the lab's research will lead to smarter cars. Some high-end vehicles, such as those made by Lexus and Volvo, already incorporate lane sensors or global positioning systems.
But MIT's research is aimed at creating vehicles that could actually coach drivers to make decisions based on data about how they're driving at that moment. For example, lane sensors and eye monitors would determine when a driver is getting fatigued and the car could then advise the driver to pull over. Biorhythm monitors could alert diabetic drivers that their blood sugar is getting too low or indicate when someone is having heart trouble.
"When you're driving, you're responsible for yourself and for the safety of those around you," Reimer said. "Big brother is trying to provide you with the information you need to make safe decisions."
A $6.8 million grant from the US Department of Transportation's New England University Transportation Center is funding the research. The automobile industry also is sponsoring the efforts.
The research will help drivers of all ages and provide valuable information on what influences safe and unsafe driving, said Elinor Ginzler, AARP's senior vice president for livable communities. It also could provide the state better tools to assess drivers' abilities as they age, she said.
"The work is exactly the kind of work that we need," she said. "The more data we have, the better we're going to be able to address those issues." 