Research takes a new road

Every year, there are over 100,000 police-reported crashes that involve drowsiness or fatigue as a principal causal factor. Qi hopes that her research also might help reduce the numbers of automobile accidents related to drowsy driving. She is working to expand her eye gaze technology and teach it to find the status of the eyes of a driver. This technology will be set up so that if drivers nod off, they can be warned and awakened, potentially preventing an accident. The setup of the technology requires a digital video camera or webcam to be installed in the car. If the camera is installed at the right position in the car, it can capture the driver’s eyes and will then be able to detect if the driver’s eyes are drooping and if the driver seems tired. The camera can then set off a trigger to give drowsy drivers a warning when they are becoming tired, wake them up and prevent them from swerving off the road or causing an accident.