HARMAN’s Pupil-Based Driver Monitoring System measures increases in pupil dilation as an indication of a driver’s mental workload. HARMAN’s new proprietary eye and pupil tracking system detects high cognitive load and mental multitasking in the driver’s seat, and signals the car’s other safety systems to adapt to the driver’s state. The technology represents a major step forward in the domain of Advanced Safety and Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) for vehicles.

Adoption of in-cabin cameras is growing rapidly, enabling features such as occupant detection and driver drowsiness monitoring. With the introduction of high cognitive load detection, HARMAN’s eye and pupil tracking technology brings additional value to the driver-facing camera. The technology eliminates the need for complex sensors built into seats and steering wheels, or biometric sensors that require physical contact with the driver. This camera continually captures the driver’s pupil dilation, and a proprietary software algorithm analyzes the pupil reflex using advanced filtering and signal processing. The filter isolates and identifies responses triggered by high cognitive load. The calculated outputs are used to intuitively adjust user interfaces, like placing mobile devices in do-not-disturb mode or adjusting ADAS system intervention thresholds to minimize physical and mental distraction to the driver. To learn more about the solution, view this video demonstration here.

I personally worked on this project from conception to first prototype. I managed internal and external resources for this project and showed the first proof of concept at CES 2016.

HARMAN’S Pupil-Based Driver Monitoring System was also named a finalist in CTIA’s 10th Annual Emerging Technology Awards.

This system was also showcased in: https://news.harman.com/releases/harman-showcases-todays-ultimate-in-vehicle-experiences-at-gims-2019

More info at: https://car.harman.com/solutions/adas/driver-and-occupant-monitoring-system