New gadget lets you manage car controls with facial expressions

Researchers have come up with a new gadget that is looking at changing the way one drives, altogether. So now imagine controlling a handful of your car’s functions by nodding and winking! As much as it will take you by surprise, it is one technology that will pique the interests of many. As per a report by The Daily Mail, this technology essentially involves an infrared sensor mounted on the dashboard of the car, which recognises the expressions of the driver and controls the car accordingly. Inside the car is a computer, which translates the gestures to a corresponding list of commands for the radio, Sat Nav, heating and mobile phone. At the moment, the gestures are under testing before they are deployed. Researchers are testing a basic set of gestures, which could be rolled out uniformly across the globe. 

To turn on the heating in the car..

So now, with the new gadget you can wink to turn the radio on and off. To turn the volume up, you can nod left, while you can nod right to turn the volume down. To skip a radio channel or a song, all you have to do is tap a finger on the steering wheel. To turn on the heating, one would be required to move their left hand up (above the gear stick), while left hand down in the same place would turn the air-conditioning on. And if you want to make a call, you just have to make a phone gesture. 

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Phone gesture to make a call..

Hans Roth, director of technology at Harman, was quoted by the report as saying, “If you don’t have to take your hands off the wheel or look down then it’s obviously safer.The first one we worked on uses hand gestures and facial recognition so things like a wink or a nod or even a tilt of the head. You would make a gesture with your hand, like tapping your finger or making a movement. That is two or three years from being available in mass production in cars. All of these could change different functions in the car, from the radio to the heaters to CDs and navigation systems. We are still testing a list of gestures which could be standard for all cars across the world. We’ve started it and now it’s about choosing the right gestures and getting it to production. You’ve got to make sure it’s culturally acceptable. In Italy for example drivers use hand gestures a lot when they drive so it needs finalising. But we are confident the hand gestures will be available two or three years.”

Technology is getting better each day and riding on that the quality of human life is gearing towards improvement, too. Better forms of technology are seeping into almost all spheres of human life, then be it household, transport or communication.

Image credit: SWNS.com