How In-Cabin Monitoring is Transforming the Cockpit of Connected Cars

Today, artificial intelligence plays a prominent role in the automotive industry. One of the striking advantages offered by this technology is the transformative in-cabin monitoring systems. Such solutions have been elevating the vehicle occupant experience to a level that was previously only imagined in works of fiction!

Today, AI-based occupant monitoring systems are able to detect drowsiness of the driver and send alerts to keep their focus on the road. In-vehicle monitoring solutions are also capable of detecting the person in the driver’s seat and customizing the cockpit experience based on his/her preferences.

How convenient it is when your car automatically changes the position of the mirrors and seat, modifies the cabin temperature, and switches to your favourite music channel as soon as you are seated!

It is also astounding how accurately these systems can identify the number of passengers in the vehicle and even figure out whether they are kids or pets.

Yes, in-cabin monitoring systems seem to be empowered with intelligence that stretches beyond the boundaries of our imagination. So let us learn a little more about these systems and the technology that powers them.

A Closer Look at In-Cabin Monitoring Systems and Sub-Systems

As automotive components become more advanced, features such as ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) have paved their way into most vehicles that are introduced in the market today. Such technologies require sensors not only on the exterior, but also in the interior of vehicles to provide a holistic experience to occupants.

OEMs are collaborating with hardware and software suppliers in their ecosystem to develop sensors that interpret data and provide actionable insights.

In-cabin monitoring systems can include the following sub-systems:

Driver Monitoring System (DMS) — The primary objective of a driver monitoring system is to minimize driver errors due to drowsiness, distraction or unexpected health conditions. In a driver monitoring system, the underlying machine learning algorithm can also analyze the driver’s behavior on the road and provide a report at the end of the journey.

Read about our proprietary driver monitoring system.

Occupant Monitoring System (OMS) — Occupancy monitoring technology is relatively new when compared to driver monitoring using sensors. The data collected by the system can be utilized to ensure the safety of the occupants, while also mitigating intrusions.

Hardware suppliers can design the architecture of in-cabin monitoring solutions so that the aforementioned subsystems can be configured either on a single centralized processing unit or on separate processors.

Various Sensors for In-Cabin Monitoring

In-Cabin Monitoring Systems utilize either one or more of the following types of sensors:

1) Passive — This includes tracking the sequence in which the vehicle doors open and close. These sensors can also send notifications to the driver to remind them of occupants in the rear seat.

2) Ultrasonic/Pressure/Weight — The main objective of these sensors is to detect the presence of occupants in the vehicle. Such sensors have high tolerance to temperature and light. The accuracy is very good at short range. One of the most important advantages of this sensor is the low power consumption. However, these are not capable of detecting micro-motion, and are usually able to detect only a single person.

3) Camera — Dash cameras are mostly used for driver monitoring. These cameras can support facial recognition. However, cameras have some disadvantages such as the inability to detect objects behind barriers and light sensitivity. For biometrics information, thermal imager and high signal processing becomes necessary. The cost of implementing cameras are also the highest when compared to the other types of sensors.

4) Gas — Gas sensors are predominantly used for analyzing the quality of air inside the cabin.

5) Microphone — Occupants in the vehicle and pets are detected through the use of microphones.

6) Radar — The use of radar in in-cabin monitoring is an exciting new development. Radar can address passive safety challenges such as occupancy sensing and detection of left-behind child.

Some advantages of using radar for in-cabin monitoring are:

· Radar is capable of detecting both macro and micro motion.

· It can also identify the presence of multiple targets.

· There are no privacy issues associated with radar technology, unlike dash cameras.

· Radar is also capable of detecting objects that are hidden.

· The processing power required for radar-based sensors is lower than camera sensors.

· Radars are also insensitive to lighting or temperature.

· One of the biggest advantages of radar is its ability to distinguish between moving and stationary objects. This enables the sensor to actually detect a life form!

· With an optimized antenna, the area of coverage of radar sensors can be increased or restricted.

· Radar sensors that have been introduced in the market are also more aesthetic than other types of sensors.

In-Cabin Sensing — A Promising Technology for Automotive Passive Safety

Driver and occupant monitoring systems have gained a lot of traction in recent times. It is expected that there will be increased demand for these systems owing to new safety regulations worldwide. For instance, the Euro NCAP protocol updates and HOT CARS Act have clear guidelines on child/passenger presence detection.

As explained above, in-cabin radar monitoring is seen to be the revolutionary new trend in the industry. An interesting use case of this technology is the detection of child presence and seat occupancy. This system can also be combined with other safety measures such as seat belt tightening and continuous monitoring to record breathing movements.

Radar can reliably identify children, adults and pets and relay this information to the driver. The technology is also capable of mitigating life-threatening incidents like heat strokes that can be fatal to children and animals.

In the event of a collision, the system can adjust the seat position so that the occupants are seated safely and optimally protected.

Radar based in-cabin monitoring systems can be connected to an alarm or even an automatic emergency call trigger. This is very useful for post-collision reporting to emergency services. The system can monitor the number of people inside the vehicle and their vital signs and send instant messages to rescue workers.

Another benefit offered by radars is its ability to detect the movement of the target, i.e., the distance, speed and direction. This helps in detecting intrusions in the backseat, particularly in shared vehicles.

The Final Word

The modern vehicle interior sensing systems are sophisticated applications endowed with the power of machine learning. These systems can even detect how busy the brain of the driver is and adapt to the way it interacts with them, so that they stay focused on the road and have an enjoyable and safe journey.

All in all, in-cabin monitoring systems promise a hitherto unknown level of safety and comfort for the connected and autonomous vehicles of the future.