The car of tomorrow will make senior citizens better, safer drivers and let them know when they ought to hang up the keys for good. It also could tell the DMV.
Researchers at MITs AgeLab are building the "Aware Car," a Volvo XC90 packed with cameras, monitors and sensors that keep tabs on drivers and their behavior to improve safety. The technology won’t be ready for another 20 years — but that’s about the time the last of the Baby Boomers will have turned 65 and one in four drivers will be that age or older.
AgeLab studies the quality-of-life issues of an aging population, and the idea behind the Aware Car isn’t getting older drivers off the road but allowing them to drive safely as long as possible. The $1.5-million vehicle also could help automakers design safer cars, and it’s one of several ongoing efforts to build the ultimate "nanny car" (More on that after the jump).
"When you’re driving, you’re responsible for yourself and for the safety of those around you," says AgeLab researcher Bryan Reimer. "Big Brother is trying to provide you with the information you need to make safe decisions."
Because Big Brother is providing a lot of the money Reimer and his colleagues are spending, the technology also could give the government the means to evaluate drivers’ competency behind the wheel and determine whether it’s time to yank their licenses.
The guys are AgeLab have outfitted the car with cameras and infrared sensors that observe a driver’s eyes and eyelid movements. Start nodding off? The car will tell you to pull over and get some rest. Sensors in the center console monitor heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. Blood-sugar dips? The car will tell you to get a bite to eat. Still more sensors keep tabs on the car’s speed and trajectory. A hard drive in the trunk collects and analyzes the data. The idea is to build a car that learns the drivers’ habits, then reacts appropriately when the driver alters them.
"Making technology more responsive to older drivers makes it safer for all generations," AgeLab director Joseph Coughlin told the Boston Globe. "The notion is driver well-being, a wellness approach to driving."
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s New England University
Transportation Center is subsidizing the research to the tune of $6.8 million with additional backing by the auto industry. The payoff is the billions that could be saved in human and capital costs now and when Boomers become seniors.
The Census Bureau predicts the number of people aged 65 and older will more than double, from 35.1 million to 86.7 million, between 2000 and 2050. According to a Government Accounting Office study released last year, drivers 65 to 74 are more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than all but the youngest drivers (16-24). Drivers older than 74 are the most likely to have a deadly accident. The report also notes older drivers increasingly will be exposed to crash risks because Boomer will, in all likelihood, drive more often — and longer distances — than their parents did.
Some of the technology that the Aware Car uses, such as lane-changing sensors and GPS, already is found on production cars, and Volvo is using similar technology to create a crash-proof car by 2020. Stanford University researchers are developing a car that collects information such as where and how fast you drive to make motorists better drivers and save them time. Reimer said AgeLab is still in the initial phase of the research and the more advanced technologies probably won’t be available on vehicles for at least 25 years.
AgeLab’s research could provide state DOTs with more accurate ways to assess aging drivers’ abilities and yield valuable data on what influences safe and unsafe driving, said the Elinor Ginzler of AARP.
"The more data we have, the better we’re going to be able to address those issues."
As with research by Stanford’s CarLab, it’s another example of Big
Brother riding shotgun in the future and, in the case of the Aware Car, telling you when it’s time to turn over the keys.
