ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - January 2023 - 10

UX/HMI
As a concept at CES 2020, BMW's ZeroG Lounger foresaw flexible seating
arrangements that robotaxis, AVs and assisted-driving potentially enable,
while also demonstrating the possibilities for properly restraining occupants
who are seated unconventionally.
which are particularly targeted at automated vehicles.
These include proximity to deployable restraints or
surfaces, smoking vapor detection, occupant posture
and seatbelt positioning.
For enhanced driver/occupant monitoring, " You
need high fidelity, " agreed Joyson's Cech. " We think
3D provides that. " Joyson also is working on a DMS/
occupant-monitoring system leveraging infrared capabilities
- " Kind of radar and vision tied together, " he
said. However, " there's still a fair amount of work to
do before it reaches production, " probably sometime
around 2027, added Jason Lisseman, Joyson's VP,
Integrated Safety Solutions GPL.
Gentex also is developing an iris-recognition
system, said CTO Neil Boehm. " That technology isn't
quite ready for the automotive space, " he said, adding
that cameras backed by increasing degrees of artificial
intelligence and neural networks currently are
the company's favored approach. Although there are
differing regulations in various world markets, Boehm
said his company is prepping for driver monitoring
to essentially be required globally in all new vehicles
approximately by the 2026 model year.
Meanwhile, Volvo thinks current driver monitoring
has room for improvement - via better understanding of
a driver's cognitive state. For the DMS of its new EX90
crossover EV (see page 4), the company employed
naturalistic driving research to create algorithms that
Steering-column mock-up showing Asahi Kasei's concept
for integrating a breath-sensing driver-impairment monitor;
intake is the nacelle atop the column.
" understand " the driver's attention level. The system's
real goal: to be less intrusive and more forgiving before
it questions the driver's attentiveness.
But there's another task DMS will be asked to
tackle: pending rulemaking from the NHTSA to
require a system to detect driver impairment, whether
alcohol- or drug-related. The federal infrastructure bill
of 2021 directed the NHTSA to develop a final rule by
2024 that requires all new passenger vehicles to be fitted
with a system to detect driver impairment. Automakers
then would have two or three years to begin installing
the system as standard equipment. But there currently
is no consensus on which type of technology can or
should be used. Most development is directed at breath
detection or a spectroscopic (touch-based) approach,
but vision-based methods also may be viable.
" Vision (impairment detection) is one interesting
way, " claimed Gentex's Brackenbury. But he said there is
considerable work remaining on determining accuracy
and repeatability standards, regardless of the chosen
technology. Meanwhile, breath-detection is " flawed, "
said Lisseman. " Our view is that you can do that
through touch. We feel that spectroscopy is evolving
and it's becoming quite feasible. " He said MEMS-based
systems hold promise for the touch-based approach
for the requirement that he thinks will " take hold " in
perhaps 2026-27.
Supplier Asahi Kasei, which specializes in filtration
10 January 2023
ADAS & AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ENGINEERING
BMW
SAE Media
ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - January 2023

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