New Facial Recognition Software May Detect Looming Road Rage

cartechboy writes "Well, since we have license plate readers tracking drivers, and GPS breaking down we're you're headed — its probably time for someone to know what mood you're in when you're driving. (Quick hint: often not a good one). Researchers at Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have prototyped a dashboard camera that tracks facial movements and expressions to read a person's emotions while behind the wheel. The team has partnered with PSA Peugeot Citroën to create a version for actual cars to determine when drivers are angry — and have high potential for road rage. One challenge for the technology has been the wide range of expressions drivers have when they're pissed. Some people smile, for example. (Maybe as they raise their middle finger.) The engineers are working on future revs to be able to tell when drivers are fatigued or even just distracted." The detection part sounds interesting; coupled with remote kill-switches that some government agencies want, and ever deeper fly-by-wire technologies, it's sounds downright dystopian, though.

angry nerds

[minstrelmike]

Man, technology that tells me how to be gets me so angry I'd probably rip the damn iPhone out its socket and throw it out the window.
And that actually would settle me back down.
At least until I got a ticket for littering.

Re:Not that much more dystopian...

[DaveAtFraud]

Probably they settle for the eye tracking. Sensing distraction and sleepiness would prevent a lot of accidents. The car would alarm the driver or gently park by itself.

Something like that (my emphasis in bold) would make it impossible for most guys to get anywhere in a car in most beach cities. Even worse, I can hear my wife now saying, "Would you keep your eyes on the road! We can't get there if the car parks itself every time some eye candy in a bikini is in view."

Cheers,
Dave