With insights from Lazina Rahman, Don Gunn, John Stih, Daniel Gomez, and Matthew Zajac
Electronic innovation has significantly revolutionized the transportation industry. This is particularly true for the in-cabin experience, with electronic applications driving safety features, comfort and convenience.
To understand the evolution of in-cabin monitoring, we must dive into the story of both safety regulations as well as technological advancements.
In-Cabin Monitoring Evolution: Case Studies
Innovation in transportation electronics is often a mix between global regulatory bodies ability to detect a problem and OEM’s creativity to solve it. Often going above and beyond to provide users not only a safer feature but a more convenient, comfortable, or luxurious experience.
A good example is when the (NHTSA) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) identifies a growing number of incidents concerning children or pets being left or forgotten in the back seat, often with tragic results. Occupant detection systems come as a timely answer for the case, alerting drivers to check their back seat and avoiding such situations.
But innovation doesn’t stop there. Once the problem is addressed, technology opens the door to go further. And so, we have companies like Infineon developing radar and image-based solutions for improved occupant detection, which can be used for adaptive airbags and safety restraints, ensuring everyone is buckled in. But not only that… these systems are also developed to provide premium features such as user profiling, presetting favorites and creating a customized experience for ultimate safety and comfort.
FEATURED PRODUCT:
Infineon XENSIV™ BGT60ATR24C Radar Sensor
Infineon’s XENSIV™ BGT60ATR24C radar sensor provides reliable occupancy and motion detection even in the most challenging environments. Its advanced radar technology is suited to identify movements as minimal as breathing, detecting any emergencies and enhancing in-cabin monitoring applications.
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On the topic of camera-based solutions, the ams OSRAM OSLON® Black Series infrared LED is used for in-cabin sensing applications. Other camera-based solutions are used to detect driver alertness by monitoring data such as eye openness, blinking rates, and head position. Car manufacturers have implemented alerts for drivers to take a break if they detect signs of fatigue. These solutions are aimed at reducing accidents caused by fatigue and may even be a step towards reducing other dangerous driving conditions, such as drunk driving.
In-cabin monitoring for autonomous vehicles
At the dawn of autonomous driving, in-cabin monitoring systems’ role becomes all the more relevant. Such is the case for Tesla, for example, are currently geared with level 2 autonomous driving (learn more about autonomous driving definitions and levels here) which requires the driver to be aware and prepared to take control at all times. To ensure this, Tesla are using in-cabin cameras to monitor driver attention when autonomous driving is engaged. This way, the car can issue alerts if the driver is distracted, just as it would, for example, when a seatbelt is off.
As autonomous driving becomes more commonplace, this type of features will become the standard in modern vehicles, enhancing safety and bringing the future a little closer each time.
From the outside-in
In-cabin innovation, interestingly enough, doesn’t necessarily start inside the cabin. Smart key fobs are an area of opportunity for innovation on in-cabin monitoring. Thanks to the portable nature of the application, smart key fobs can begin to enhance safety and comfort since before boarding the vehicle with embedded features capable of, for example, identifying where the user is approaching the vehicle from and adjusting accordingly.
By incorporating Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ultra-wideband, and near-field communications, your everyday key could serve much more than its traditional purposes. These technologies offer the potential for additional security and convenience as well as reduced costs.
Emerging Trends in In-Cabin Monitoring: Technological Advancements
As previously mentioned, innovation in this sector is driven by both the need and the state of the art of technology. The following are the trending advancements that are enhancing in-cabin monitoring.
From a Camera Sensors Perspective
A recurring problem in current automotive camera systems is adapting to the varying lighting conditions inside, outside, and through the windows of a vehicle. For this reason, the trend in camera systems is to incorporate High Dynamic Range (HDR) to balance exposure levels. This technology is common in, for example, cameras on a phone, but incorporating them to automotive applications can help prevent under or overexposure, ensuring clear visibility regardless of ambient conditions. Thanks to this, cameras inside the car can adjust to bright ambient lighting without making the cabin appear too dark, and vice versa.
FEATURED PRODUCT:
onsemi Hyperlux Image Sensors
onsemi’s Hyperlux image sensors are equipped with on-chin HDR, enhancing low-light performance and near-infrared sensitivity, making them ideal for the varying lighting conditions of in-cabin monitoring applications.
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In addition, wake-on-motion technology comes as an effective solution to keep cameras operational even when the car is parked. This helps enhance security and monitoring without sacrificing efficiency.
Another trend comes with the use of optical flow and indirect time-of-flight (ToF) sensors. These technologies are aimed to tackle privacy concerns, by transmitting motion vectors or 3D point clouds instead of full-frame images. This way, occupants and their actions can be identified and monitored without the need to share detailed visuals, preserving privacy without losing the necessary data.
From a Processing Perspective
Modern processors are trending towards built-in AI acceleration, which becomes crucial as they can take the video feed a step further and analyze it in real time, identifying data like what we’ve touched on before (occupants, driver alertness, etc.) and make decisions accordingly.
NXP processors like the i.MX 8M Plus and i.MX 95, for example, offer these AI acceleration features to perform analytics on video data. These processors can accurately detect alertness, identify yawning or even if the driver is looking at their phone.
This becomes increasingly interesting when we pair it with the trend towards vehicle automation and self-driving capabilities. Real time data analysis allows the vehicle to make swift and precise decisions to enhance safety and convenience.
The Question of Cameras for Mirrors and How to Make It Possible
The number of cameras in vehicles keeps increasing, and the purposes are as varied as they are interesting. One of the spotted trends is the use of cameras as an enhanced version of traditional mirrors. A trend that probably sparked from the now common reverse/backup cameras and is now carrying over to all mirrors thanks to its tried-and-true benefits in driver assistance, security, and reliability.
To make it a reality however, engineers are faced with the challenge of transmitting large volumes of data from multiple cameras to processors over long distances and long periods of time.
Technologies like Gigabit Ethernet and GMSL2 (Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link) enable efficient and real-time data transfer, providing high-speed video transmission and low latency.
On the side of interconnection technology, coaxial cables and specific connectors like FAKRA are the preferred choice thanks to their superior reliability and data transfer efficiency across the modules in a vehicle.
As the trend grows, engineers are faced with the challenge of tackling questions like this, for low latency, reliability, functionality, and cost-effectiveness.
Before we move on to our second article in the series, Securing In-Vehicle Networks and Connectivity, do you have any transportation projects you’d like to take to the next level?
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