BMW has been actively pursuing technologies that make drivers’ lives easier, but the results have been mixed. For example, its gesture-control function whereby you perform operations by waving your hand can require excessively elaborate gestures to work, and many have debated whether that is really an advance over operating a button or touching the screen.
But the automaker has also been using eye tracking to initiate lane changes as part of the ADAS suite on some of its models, and it’s now expanding that functionality with a new patent filing with the European Patent Office. If your eye movement suggests that you’re going to follow a navigation prompt, it can automatically switch on the relevant indicator for you.
How The System Works
According to BMW, the system starts working the moment the navigation is called into action to guide the driver to a specific location. The eye tracker monitors the driver’s eye movements to determine if they are paying attention to the road. If they are, it then checks to determine whether their eyes are aligned to the next navigation cue. If that is indeed the case, and the driver is likely to follow the prompt, it activates the appropriate turn signal automatically on behalf of the driver.
Safeguards are built into the system to ensure its accuracy and to avoid false positives; these are said to include prompts and confirmations in cases of ambiguity or uncertainty. The patent emphasizes the use of a driver-specific reference attention model, so the system can learn over time to be better suited to a specific driver and as a result, more accurate.
Serves More Than One Purpose
The system is useful in that it:
- Reduces the driver’s workload
- Ensures that the turn signal is activated even if the driver fails to do so
- Serves as an audio and visual cue to the driver that an action is required
- Makes the navigation system more efficient and safer
- Uses existing eye-tracking functionality already present in the vehicle
