Driver alert system detects changes in vehicle behaviour

The system comprises a small forward-facing camera connected to an on-board computer. The camera is mounted on the back of the rear-view mirror and is trained to identify lane markings on both sides of the vehicle.

When the vehicle is on the move, the computer looks at the road ahead and predicts where the car should be positioned relative to the lane markings. It then measures where the vehicle actually is, and if the difference is significant the system issues a warning.

’Let’s imagine the driver is tired, their concentration levels start to drop and the vehicle starts to drift from side to side,’ said Ford engineer Margareta Nieh. ’The software will detect this change in the vehicle’s behaviour, triggering a two-stage warning process.’

First, a soft warning will pop up in the instrument cluster as a text message and will stay there for 10 seconds with an accompanying chime. If the driver continues to demonstrate drowsy behaviour, a hard warning will appear in the instrument cluster, which the driver must acknowledge by pressing the OK button.