Smart Eye

Tag: Automotive

  • How Interior Sensing Technology Leads The Way to Safer Roads

    As a member of both CLEPA and the Tier 2 group, Smart Eye is helping Euro NCAP formulate the tests and assessment protocol which will be used to rate Driver Monitoring Systems by 2023. And with our 20+ years of experience developing Driver Monitoring System software for the automotive industry, we know what separates a mediocre system from a really good system.

    That is why we feel confident that our Driver Monitoring solution is fully prepared to be tested by Euro NCAP–and receive a top rating. Our AI-powered driver monitoring technology includes the most advanced eye tracking available and delivers accurate, reliable results independent of illumination or face conclusion.

    At Smart Eye, we have always been guided by our ambition to improve road safety and save lives through technology. The inclusion of Driver Monitoring technology in Euro NCAP’s next assessment protocol is an initiative that has the potential to save thousands of lives every year. 

    And if you ask us, the sooner Driver Monitoring Systems become a natural part of every new European vehicle, the better.

     

    Beyond DMS: What’s Next for Euro NCAP?

    By including Driver Monitoring in the next assessment protocol, Euro NCAP acknowledges the importance of analyzing not just the state of the car, but the people within it. By turning cameras and sensors inwards, to the entire cabin, the safety and comfort of all road users can be improved.

    These emerging technologies are called Interior Sensing and will likely be recognized by Euro NCAP in future iterations of the protocol. For example, from 2022, Euro NCAP will be rewarding points for Child Presence Detection, which can detect a child alone in a car and alert the owner or emergency services to avoid heatstroke fatalities. The same technology can be used for Pet Detection, to avoid heatstroke fatalities in pets left behind in vehicles.

    Smart Eye has been delivering AI-based Driver Monitoring software to the automotive industry for two decades. Through the recent acquisition of Emotion AI pioneer Affectiva, Smart Eye will further expand our DMS to deliver advanced Interior Sensing technology. Apart from enabling

    Child Presence Detection and Pet Detection, this new generation of Interior Sensing technology will address future safety requirements, like Passenger Position or Seatbelt Detection.

    Distraction and drowsiness are among the greatest road safety risks, responsible for thousands of injuries and deaths every year. This has been well-known for years, but it’s only recently that authorities and road safety organizations have really started to lift the importance of Driver Monitoring Systems for preventing traffic accidents. And out of these organizations, Euro NCAP is one of the most influential. Considering the impact Euro NCAP has on the European car market, the inclusion of Driver Monitoring in their assessment protocol is bound to make a real difference for the use of driver monitoring on European roads. By 2023, in just two short years,  Driver Monitoring will practically be a requirement for any new car model launched on the European market.

    We sometimes compare the view on driver monitoring systems to how the seatbelt was viewed 50 years ago. When the seatbelt was launched, some people reacted with skepticism. It was seen as an inconvenience and an unnecessary cost. Now, no car manufacturer would think to launch a car model without seatbelts. Not only because it’s a legal requirement, but because very few people would feel safe driving without one.

    We believe Driver Monitoring Systems will follow the same pattern. Give it a few years, and the risk of a driver falling asleep behind the wheel will seem like a thing of the past. And even short term, any money car manufacturers invest into driver monitoring systems will be earned back in terms of a higher safety rating from Euro NCAP and, most importantly, less injuries and deaths in their cars.

    Learn more in our latest e-book: Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) The Next Seatbelt

    Learn more about Smart Eye Automotive Solutions here.

  • The Road to a Five-Star Rating with Euro NCAP

    The interior of a car is an incredibly demanding environment for a Driver Monitoring System. The system needs to be able to perform under a wide range of conditions, including vibration, heat, cold, extreme lighting conditions, as well as occupants who wear sunglasses, hats or face masks. At the same time, a Driver Monitoring System relies on some very complex technology that takes years to develop and refine.

    As a result, few manufacturers in the world are truly capable of delivering Driver Monitoring System software that lives up to the high standards of the global automotive industry. This is why Euro NCAP needs to thoroughly test and evaluate different Driver Monitoring Systems, basing their rating on their performance and complexity. Deciding exactly how to assess different types of technologies and features is a very important part of the OSM group’s job, and the work is far from finished. But at this point, these are a few examples of features we know will make a difference for the rating of a Driver Monitoring System and, in extension, an entire car model: behavioral detection, the camera, occlusion and warning and intervention effectiveness.

     

    Warning and intervention effectiveness

    What’s the point of a Driver Monitoring System if it lacks the ability to actually change the behavior of the driver and prevent an accident? This is why warning and intervention effectiveness is so important. The best systems are able to determine which type of warning or intervention is the most helpful based on the behavior of the driver, and effectively activate it.

     

    Occlusion

    When assessing a Driver Monitoring System, Euro NCAP will also need to test how well it handles occlusion. In perfect conditions, the driver’s face is fully visible and evenly lit. But for use in real-life conditions, a driver monitoring system needs to be able to recognize drivers who wear sunglasses, hats and face masks, and deliver reliable results in less-than-ideal lighting. It also needs to be able to notify the driver if an object blocks the view of the camera – like a cellphone being held up in front of the driver’s face.

     

    The camera

    The camera is an essential feature of a highly rated Driver Monitoring System. Compared to other methods for detecting distraction or drowsiness, a camera is far superior in terms of quickly determining the state of the driver. And should worst come to worst, every second is valuable. Combined with eye tracking software, a camera-based system can keep up with the inner workings of the driver’s mind better than any other type of system–offering far more exact results than, for example, a system that only uses lane swerving, acceleration, or steering wheel hand sensors. The problem with these types of technologies is that they are only able to identify drowsiness and distraction once the driver is departing from their lane or falling asleep – at which point it might already be too late. Camera-based systems with eye tracking technology, on the other hand, can prevent potential impairment by detecting distraction or drowsiness before the driving performance is affected. Euro NCAP refers to camera-based systems as direct driver monitoring, which will be necessary for a car model to receive a five-star rating in the future 

     

    Behavioral detection

    A Driver Monitoring System might be able to detect when a driver is distracted, but can it determine what is causing the distraction? In the 2023 update of Euro NCAP’s assessment protocol, the extent of a Driver Monitoring System’s behavioral detection can make the difference between two scores. Identifying the source of the distraction is important for determining what safety measures should be activated by the system.

    The more advanced systems can, for example, use object detection to identify a phone in the driver’s hand, follow their gaze up and down the display and conclude that the driver is distracted by their phone.In this situation, a useful response might be for the system to issue a warning – bringing the driver’s attention back to the road.

    Learn more in our latest e-book, where we will cover more on how interior sensing is leading the way to safer roads. 

     

    Download – eBook: Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) The Next Seatbelt 

    Learn more about Smart Eye Automotive Solutions here.

  • Smart Eye Announces One Driver Monitoring System Design Win with Major New OEM Customer

    Smart Eye receives one new Driver Monitoring System (DMS) design win from one of Europe’s largest OEMs. The estimated revenue of the order is SEK 50 million based on estimated product life cycle projections. The potential of further design wins on this new platform is estimated at SEK 500 million.

    Smart Eye, the leading developer of AI-based DMS software to the automotive industry, has received a major order from a global Tier-1 supplier for delivering to a major European OEM, one of the largest automotive brands in a group of car manufacturers. Together, this group is one of the largest vehicle producers in the world, focusing on cars in the mid-segment.

    The new nomination means Smart Eye will deliver its driver monitoring software, compliant with recent regulation, to one new car model on a new platform. The model to include Smart Eye’s DMS software is estimated to go into production in mid-2024. The car is intended for the mass-market segment.

    “Yet another large carmaker is now secured for our automotive software offering, after a long and competitive procurement. We are confident that this order will not only lead to more deals on the same car platform, but also to put us in pole position for more business in the group to which this OEM belong. Furthermore, Smart Eye’s market leadership for DMS creates a strategic foothold which we intend to use for Interior Sensing, the next large industry trend,” said Martin Krantz, CEO of Smart Eye. “This win reinforces that the industry – driven by regulatory tailwind – is rapidly sourcing these critical safety system that will save lives on roads around the world.”

    Smart Eye has now received a total of 90 design wins from 14 OEMs. The combined estimated lifetime value from current design wins is now larger than SEK 2,325 million. Estimated value over the product lifecycle from possible additional design wins with the car manufacturers on existing platforms is now SEK 4,475 million.

    About Smart Eye

    Smart Eye is the global leader in Human Insight AI, technology that understands, supports and predicts human behavior in complex environments. Together with its subsidiaries Affectiva and iMotions, the company is bridging the gap between humans and machines for a safe and sustainable future.

    Smart Eye offers road-ready Driver Monitoring Systems and next-level Interior Sensing solutions built on two decades of automotive experience. Smart Eye’s technology is embedded in next-generation vehicles as OEM or Tier 1 solutions and has been selected by 14 of the world’s leading car manufacturers for 90 car models. Smart Eye also provides complete hardware and software solutions for fleet and aftermarket, powering vehicles on the road today.

    As the preferred partner to the automotive industry, Smart Eye is leading the way towards safer, more sustainable transportation and mobility experiences enhancing wellness, comfort, and entertainment.

    Smart Eye was founded in 1999, is publicly traded and headquartered in Sweden with offices in the US, UK, Germany, Denmark, Egypt, Japan, Singapore, and China.

    Visit www.smarteye.ai for more information.
     
    Visit our investor web for more financial information: https://www.corp.www.www.smarteye.se/en/

    Smart Eye is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Erik Penser is Certified Adviser and can be reached at +46-8-463 8000 or certifiedadviser@penser.se.

    For more information:

    Martin Krantz, CEO Smart Eye AB
    Phone: +46 70-329 26 98
    Email: martin.krantz@www.www.smarteye.se

    Anders Lyrheden, CFO Smart Eye AB
    Phone: +46 70-320 96 95
    Email: anders.lyrheden@www.www.smarteye.se

    This information is information that Smart Eye is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2022-02-07 08:30 CET.

  • What We Know About Euro NCAP’s New Assessment Protocol

    For any car manufacturer on the European market, this is the burning question. What will the next update of Euro NCAP’s assessment protocol require of their car models? The exact assessment protocol and how car models will be tested has yet to be confirmed, but the OSM group is working hard to finalize the performance tests. Originally, testing according to the new assessment protocol was planned to begin in 2022, but the update had to be pushed to 2023 due to the 2020 outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. So here’s what we know so far thanks to our involvement in the Euro NCAP OSM group.

    How will Driver Monitoring Systems be tested?

    Receiving a five-star rating from Euro NCAP will be very difficult without an active safety system that monitors the state of the driver – also known as a Driver Monitoring System. But simply having a Driver Monitoring System might not be enough to secure a top safety rating from Euro NCAP. The number of stars awarded depends on the quality of the system, and its ability to prevent dangerous situations. The assessment of Driver Monitoring Systems will be based on three different types of road safety risks: distraction from forward road, fatigue, and unresponsive driver/sudden sickness.

    Distraction from forward road refers to any type of situation that takes the driver’s eyes off the road ahead. This can include anything from adjusting the infotainment or texting while driving, to being distracted by a child in the backseat.

    No matter the cause of the distraction, if the driver takes their eyes off the road for too long or keep repeating distracting behaviors, the Driver Monitoring System needs to be able to issue an effective warning that brings the driver’s attention back to the road. Meanwhile, it should cause the car’s active safety system to intervene. But for a system tested by Euro NCAP, being able to identify distraction is just a basic requirement. To receive top marks without falsely annoying the driver, it will need to be able to differentiate between different types of distractions with a very high level of accuracy.

    Fatigue will be assessed based on the KSS (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale), which is a well-established evaluation system for studying sleepiness. In fact, the KSS is the scale we use at Smart Eye when developing our driver monitoring systems, which ensures that the estimates made by our software correspond with how Euro NCAP measures sleepiness.

    Sudden sickness, or unresponsive driver, is defined as any situation in which the driver loses control of the vehicle due to a sudden health condition, like a heart attack or a seizure. A situation like this would require more drastic safety measures compared to other types of impairment states. First, the system might try to warn the driver, while activating automatic lane keeping to keep the car from drifting. If the driver remains unresponsive, the car would activate its emergency blinkers and come to a gradual stop.

    Learn more in our latest e-book, where we will cover more on getting a 5 star rating with Euro NCAP.

    Download – eBook: Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) The Next Seatbelt

    Learn more about Smart Eye Automotive Solutions here.

  • How Euro NCAP Will Make Driver Monitoring Systems the New Safety Standard

    You might be familiar with the name Euro NCAP, but exactly what they do and why they are such an influential institution within the automotive industry might not be quite as well known.

    In a nutshell, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is one of the world’s most well-established safety rating systems for new car models. Euro NCAP is backed by the European Commission, five European governments and various motoring and consumer organizations in every EU country. While there are corresponding organizations in other parts of the world, like China NCAP, US NCAP and Japan NCAP, Euro NCAP is known as the most progressive and visionary, often the first to launch new assessment protocols.

    At its core, Euro NCAP is a relatively small team of people who test and rate vehicles based on their level of safety. Nevertheless, these assessments tend to have tremendous impact on the automotive industry. A high rating from Euro NCAP is a well-established mark of quality. Millions of people look to Euro NCAP when deciding which car to buy, and naturally favor the models with the highest safety ratings. This encourages automakers to adapt their new car models to the safety standards set by Euro NCAP. Because if there’s one thing an automaker wants to avoid, it’s a reputation for designing and building unsafe cars.

     

    How does Euro NCAP rate new car models? 

    The tests performed by Euro NCAP are based on an assessment protocol that is updated every two years. Once tested, new car models receive a star rating, with five stars being the highest rating and one being the lowest. 

    The assessment protocol consists of four important categories, which combined decide a vehicle’s overall safety rating. They are: 

    • Adult Occupant Protection 
    • Child Occupant Protection 
    • Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Protection 
    • Safety Assist

    On the next few pages, we will focus on the fourth category: Safety Assist. This is the category that evaluates driver assistance and crash avoidance technologies, including technologies like Driver Monitoring systems. 

     

    What is OSM and DMS? 

    Occupant Status Monitoring (OSM) technologies have been developed to improve road safety. For many years, Euro NCAP has rewarded seatbelt reminders, and such systems remain a central part of OSM. But with newer technologies, the condition of the driver can be monitored to determine whether he or she is alert and paying attention to the driver tasks. These types of technologies are referred to as Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS). 

    With eye tracking software and an infrared camera, DMS can detect whether a driver is inattentive or drowsy. The system can then generate impulses to alert the driver’s attention, and if this fails, take control, and stop the vehicle. A DMS with eye tracking also enables the driver to remotely control some functionality with the gaze and gestures, which can improve security and comfort for the driver and passengers. 

     

    Who decides what the new car assessment protocol should contain? 

    In order to keep up with the quickly evolving occupant status monitoring and driver monitoring technologies, Euro NCAP formed the OSM (Occupant Status Monitoring) group. The OSM group consists of different organizations and administrations that are involved in Euro NCAP. Two important organizations contributing to the work of the OSM group is ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, and CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers. 

    Both ACEA and CLEPA contribute with their expert knowledge on the automotive industry and influence the OSM group’s decisions. Smart Eye is included in CLEPA both as a member and as a representative of Scandinavian organization FKG, offering the OSM group the perspective of Scandinavian automotive suppliers. 

    A high rating from Euro NCAP is a well-established mark of quality. Millions of people look to Euro NCAP when deciding which car to buy.

    In order to stay up to date on relevant developments, the OSM group also gathers important information from external organizations. One of these is the Tier 2 group. Through the Tier 2 group, Driver Monitoring System software developers like Smart Eye, Seeing Machines, Affectiva and Cipia contribute their technical expertise to the OSM group by providing important behavioral indicators and initial testing proposals. Based on both internal discussions and input from external organizations, the OSM group are developing the tests and assessment protocol that Euro NCAP will use to rate the driver monitoring technology in new car models. And this is the part of the process with which the OSM group is currently busy at work. Learn more in our latest e-book, where we will cover more on what we know about the new assessment protocol.

    Download — eBook: Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) The Next Seatbelt

     

    Learn more about Smart Eye Automotive Solutions here.

  • Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS): A New Era of Road Safety

    Most people are well aware that car travel comes with a risk. Each year approximately 1.35 million people are killed in car crashes, and even more are seriously injured. The harsh reality is that getting into a car is one of the most dangerous things many of us continue to do on a daily basis.

    Keeping this in mind, it can be hard to understand how there are car manufacturers who still hesitate to invest in the technology that could keep their cars out of the worst road injury statistics. But give it just a couple years, and we will be looking at a very different situation; the reason for that is Euro NCAP, the European New Car Assessment Programme that tests and rates vehicles based on their safety performance.

    In September 2017, Euro NCAP announced that the upcoming update to their new car assessment protocol would reward points for advanced Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS). Basic DMS systems look at the indirect driving symptoms of driver distraction and drowsiness, like lane swerving, acceleration, and steering wheel hand sensors. However, with the emergence of L2 vehicles, with automated lane centering and adaptive cruise control, automakers can no longer rely on these secondary signals.

    Euro NCAP has realized this new blind spot and will score vehicles with advanced DMS the highest. Since then, the automotive industry has been encouraged to move into a higher gear when it comes to the implementation of Driver Monitoring Systems.

    But what exactly is Euro NCAP? And how will their next assessment protocol affect the construction of practically every new car model put on our roads? Download our latest e-book, where we will answer some of the most common questions surrounding Euro NCAP and their initiative on Driver Monitoring.

    Download — eBook: Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) The Next Seatbelt

    Learn more about Smart Eye Automotive Solutions here.

     

  • Smart Eye Automotive Interior Sensing Named CES 2022 Innovation Awards Honoree

    The company’s groundbreaking Automotive Interior Sensing solution combines driver monitoring and cabin monitoring to improve road safety and mobility experiences.

    Gothenburg, Sweden – January 4, 2022 – Smart Eye, the global leader in Human Insight AI, today announced that it has been named a CES® 2022 Innovation Awards Honoree for Smart Eye Automotive Interior Sensing. The recognition comes ahead of CES 2022, happening Jan. 5-7 in Las Vegas, NV and digitally.

    Smart Eye Automotive Interior Sensing combines the company’s industry-leading driver monitoring system (DMS) with cabin monitoring to provide deep, human-centric insight into what is happening inside a vehicle. The system understands the state of the driver, the cabin and the backseat passengers, by detecting eye gaze, head movement, body posture, occupancy, activities, children, pets and objects. Powered by Affectiva’s Emotion AI, it also captures nuanced emotions, reactions and facial expressions. In turn, Smart Eye enables OEMs and Tier 1s to build next generation vehicles that improve road safety by understanding dangerous driving behavior, and unlock features and services that enhance wellness, comfort and entertainment.

    Smart Eye Automotive Interior Sensing is a multi-modal solution built with computer vision, machine learning and massive amounts of real-world automotive data. With a flexible camera position using the latest optical RGB and IR sensors, the system runs in real time on low-power embedded systems.

    “We’re so excited to receive this recognition of our work in Interior Sensing,” said Martin Krantz, Founder and CEO of Smart Eye. “For years, Smart Eye has held a definitive leadership position in the driver monitoring system (DMS) market. Now, we are expanding our view beyond just the driver, to monitor the full cabin, to understand what is happening inside a vehicle. The industry is rapidly adopting these multi-modal Interior Sensing solutions, in response to evolving requirements for advanced safety features and next-generation mobility experiences. We’re proud to be at the forefront of this movement.”

    The CES Innovation Awards program is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in 27 consumer technology product categories. Those with the highest rating receive the “Best of Innovation” distinction. An elite panel of industry expert judges, including members of the media, designers, engineers and more, reviewed submissions based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetic and design. This year’s CES Innovation Awards program received a record-high number of submissions, with 1,800 companies entering.

    Smart Eye will participate in Digital CES and will host remote, live technology demos of its latest and greatest automotive technology for select clients and partners during the week of CES and beyond.

    Learn more about Smart Eye Automotive Interior Sensing in this overview video: https://youtu.be/jRdMaL0nkSI

    Learn more about Smart Eye’s activities during CES 2022: www.www.smarteye.se/ces-2022

    The CES 2022 Innovation Awards honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES.tech/innovation.

     

    About Smart Eye

    Smart Eye is the global leader in Human Insight AI, technology that understands, supports and predicts human behavior in complex environments. Together with its subsidiaries Affectiva and iMotions, the company is bridging the gap between humans and machines for a safe and sustainable future.

    Smart Eye offers road-ready Driver Monitoring Systems and next-level Interior Sensing solutions built on two decades of automotive experience. Smart Eye’s technology is embedded in next-generation vehicles as OEM or Tier 1 solutions and has been selected by 13 of the world’s leading car manufacturers for 89 car models. Smart Eye also provides complete hardware and software solutions for fleet and aftermarket, powering vehicles on the road today.

    As the preferred partner to the automotive industry, Smart Eye is leading the way towards safer, more sustainable transportation and mobility experiences enhancing wellness, comfort, and entertainment.

    Smart Eye was founded in 1999, is publicly traded and headquartered in Sweden with offices in the US, UK, Germany, Denmark, Egypt, Japan, Singapore, and China. Learn more at: www.smarteye.ai.

     

    Press Contact:

    Hailey Melamut
    hailey.melamut@walkersands.com

  • Join Smart Eye at virtual CES 2022

    Smart Eye has decided to not participate in CES 2022 in person. Given the pandemic surges around the world, we do not want to put the health and well being of our employees, clients and partners at risk.

    We do want to start off the new year by showcasing the latest and greatest innovations in our technology, including our Driver Monitoring System, our Interior Sensing AI, powered by Affectiva, and AIS, our new product for fleet and aftermarket.

    During the week of CES and beyond, we will deliver an awesome virtual experience that will include remote live demos by our technical experts and new content and videos of our automotive technology.

    If you are interested in learning more, contact us to schedule a meeting!

    To find out more about our CES presence: https://www.www.smarteye.se/ces-2022/

  • How Human Insight AI Will Transform Behavioral Research for Automotive and Beyond

  • Automotive News: Interior sensing emerges as a new frontier in vehicle safety