GM patents innovative system to take on road rage
General Motors (GM) has secured a patent for a unique system aimed at monitoring and mitigating road rage among drivers. The patent, filed in November 2022 and published this month, is titled "Vehicle Occupant Mental Wellbeing Assessment and Countermeasure Deployment." Although it doesn't explicitly mention 'road rage,' the system focuses on sensors and modules, that assess the situation inside the vehicle to prevent any undesirable situations behind the wheel.
System monitors driver's mental well-being and actions
The patented system is designed to assess "a mental well-being of a driver while driving the vehicle and deploying a countermeasure in response to a mindfulness level of the driver being beyond a desired range." It uses telemetry monitoring for hard braking and acceleration, tailgating, horn usage, and microphones for listening in on conversations within the cabin. The system also monitors other occupants in the vehicle, aiming to prevent stress-induced negative situations.
System deploys countermeasures to ensure safe driving
Upon detecting signs of stress or undesirable driving behaviors such as swerving, tailgating, or using profanity, the system can implement several steps to rectify the situation. Initially, it issues an alert suggesting an "exercise" such as taking a deep breath. If this doesn't work, it recommends calling someone using the car's hands-free system. In severe cases, it automatically contacts a trained advisor to help calm down the driver.
Controversial feature allows autonomous vehicle control
One of the more contentious features of the system involves activating advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) to limit the driver's control over certain functions of the vehicle. The patent describes this as ADAS being "configured to provide a level of autonomous vehicle control...such that a driver of the vehicle need not be actively involved in controlling one or more driving or other functions of the vehicle." However, it remains uncertain whether this patented idea will ever reach production.
