Denso unveils safety monitor to reduce road accidents

Global automotive supplier Denso has introduced a driver status monitor system in a bid to reduce road accidents involving commercial vehicles.

The safety product, which can be retrofitted to the existing trucks and buses, detects distractions, drowsiness and inappropriate posture of the drivers based on their facial image.

The camera installed in the driver cabin captures images of the motorist, following which the monitor initiates an alarm if any form of distractions are detected.

At present, the device is commercially available across Japan through the DENSO Sales and DENSO service stations. It is scheduled to be introduced outside the country later this year.

Most large commercial vehicles are not equipped with the latest safety devices and are capable of causing serious damage in an accident.

This driver status monitor system can be retrofitted on these existing vehicles and help to increase road safety.

All driver conditions detected by the system are recorded on a SD card. This data can be reviewed by an operation manager to provide additional guidance for safe driving.

Furthermore, any driver distractions can also be notified to the operation manager in real-time, thereby able to alert the driver immediately and avoid possible incidents.

The monitor can be connected with a new telematics device for commercial vehicles introduced by Denso and a Fujitsu-manufactured Cloud-based digital tachograph.

Denso developed its first driver status monitor in 2014. Three years later in 2017, it collaborated with Xperi-subsidiary FotoNation to develop facial-image recognition and neural network technologies to augment its driver status monitoring systems.