Volvo is working on a camera that monitors your vitals while you drive

Volvo has always put driver safety at the forefront of their car making efforts and have been developing a new driver-facing camera to further that goal. The nanny-cam style camera will monitor the driver’s vital signs, signaling to the driver or other parties if it detects something is wrong.

Talking to Car magazine, Atif Rafiq, Volvo’s chief digital officer, says that among other things, the camera could detect the driver’s glucose levels, and either call a loved one or even a hospital if it detects something wrong. The camera will also enable the car to monitor your stress levels on your commute and take actions to de-stress you.

Facial recognition could also be included

It could also use facial recognition, similar to Face ID or Android’s Face Unlock, to automatically set your preferred settings for climate control, seating position, and other features.

It could even go further, conceivably, by knowing where you are and setting navigation preferences when you get into the driver’s seat in the morning. Honestly, there are quite a few viable possibilities with the camera and software and it will be interesting to see what Volvo comes up with.

It’s not ready for release any time soon

Speaking to Digital Trends, Volvo went on to say that while the camera technology is in development, it’s very much in the concept stages and not slated for release in 2019.

With any camera system, privacy concerns are usually the top of the list for users. Volvo says it will anonymize footage and it won’t be shared, and they reckon that drivers will learn to trust the camera, as they trust the myriad of other sensors on their health tracking wearables.

I can see other uses for the camera system, such as reminding the driver when they’re driving distractedly or even if they look like they’re too tired to continue. That should make some of the safest cars on the road, even safer.

What do you think of the idea? Would you be ok with it? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.