November 16, 2012

Tracking facial features to make driving safer and more comfortable




For those familiar with its language, the face reflects much about an individual’s identity and emotional state. EPFL scientists are developing a tool that will be able to use facial information to make the cars of the future safer and more comfortable.

Today’s “intelligent” cars, equipped with multiple sensors and algorithms, can react to emergency situations, regulate speed, assist with parking and respond to voice commands. But they don’t know who’s at the wheel or how that driver is feeling. The face is a valuable source of this information, and a project initiated by EPFL’s Transportation Center involving EPFL’s Signal Processing 5 Laboratory (NTS5) and PSA Peugeot Citroën aims to mine it for use in the automobiles of the future.