FALCONIUM

Drivers are always told to keep their eyes on the road while driving. This phrase now has a literal meaning to it because a driver can steer a car with only his eyes. A team from the Artificial Intelligence Group tested the eyeDriver software that uses eye movements to steer a car. The software converts the driver’s eye movements into controls for the steering wheel. Although the speed of the car is controlled separately, this is a huge step for not having to drive a car with your hands on the steering wheel.

To use the software properly, the driver must put on a bicycle helmet with two cameras and an infrared LED light attached to it and a laptop with all the appropriate programs that enables the software to work properly. One of the cameras view what the driver sees and the other camera points towards the eye of the driver with the help of the infrared light and a transparent mirror so that the camera does not get in the way of the driver. Once the two cameras are calibrated they are capture both the position of the pupil in the eye camera and calculate the place where the driver is looking at. The coordinates of the place where the driver’s eyes are looking at are transmitted into the computer so the vehicle can act accordingly. If the program is on free ride mode, the car drives according to where the eyes are looking, and if the program is on routing mode, the car drives automatically until it comes to an intersection at which the driver looks one way or another for three seconds informing the vehicle to turn a certain way. Before the driver starts to drive, he has to set a constant speed because the program does not control the speed of the car with the driver’s eyes; it only steers the car.

This project is called AutoNOMOS and is headed by Tinosch Ganjineh to further develop automatic or partially automatic cars. So far only the vehicle named the Spirit of Berlin is designed to operate with eye movements as it drives. This will benefit the public greatly if it is released because it can prevent accidents, improve driving efficiency, and create an environmentally friendly source of transportation.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100423215028.htm

-Claire Chen