One of the biggest causes in traffic accidents is sleep deprivation
http://voices.yahoo.com/5-most-common-causes-car-accidents-4947668.html
I almost had an accident experiencing this myself. My best friend had an accident this way. We are not the only ones.<p>The solution consists of an Eye (camera + IR camera) connected to a mini arduino (or similar) that watches the driver by looking at its face and detecting if eyes are opened. (see http://www.visagetechnologies.com/html5/ ) .
When your eyes are closed fox X seconds, a notification sounds loudly.
Possible addition: Heart rate sensor in the steering wheel so when the HR drops(you fall asleep) the system notifies you as well.<p>Technically this seems a pretty simple device to build.
If the insurance companies cooperate (cheaper insurance when using this device) This should be a financially viable product.<p>What do you think of this?
I've come across such devices several times. Well intended, but I believe that if you're getting so tired that you may fall asleep you really shouldn't be driving and look for a nearby hotel instead.
A sudden buzz or loud sound notification may scare me, which could cause accidents too.
I hate this kind of "do gooder" tech.<p>It's one more thing that will be imposed on us for the greater good making our lives a tiny bit more complicated and a bit more expensive.<p>This thing will break and will have to be repaired.<p>It WILL have bugs that warns you for nothing adding a bit more stress to lives that don't need more.<p>Now if you ask me, it's probably viable commercially and I expect to see this kind of thing in new cars in the next 5 years.<p>I'm surprised it's not in standard already, but maybe it's a too processor intensive for a cheap controller.