Canberra-headquartered Seeing Machines has unveiled new Driver Monitoring System technology that goes beyond driver drowsiness and distraction detection.
The company’s new technology is now capable of detecting non-drowsy driver impairment, including alcohol-related impairment.
Seeing Machines has adapted its DMS technology to detect alcohol impairment ranging from .05 blood alcohol content (BAC) to higher levels, where risk is continually elevating.
The highest level of accuracy and precision occurs when drivers are in the .10 BAC range or higher.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that 67 per cent of alcohol impaired fatalities included one driver with a BAC limit of .15 or higher.
Seeing Machine’s new DMS feature that targets the range of BAC readings should have a positive effect on road safety.
“For years our technology, now in over 3.7 million cars and over 60,000 trucks today, has been capable of detecting and preventing distracted and drowsy driving,” said Seeing Machines’ Chief Safety Officer, Dr Mike Lenné.
“After extensive research, development, and rigorous testing we are now able to detect other forms of impairment, including impairment from alcohol to the level currently required by European NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) standards for alcohol detection.”
The new capability was launched at the MADD (Mothers Against Drink Driving) 45th anniversary in Washington, D.C.
In the US, DMS has primarily been used to maintain driver engagement during hands-free driving with systems like Ford’s Blue Cruise and General Motors’ Super Cruise.
The same system that allows the driver to operate hands-free, already detecting distraction and drowsiness, can also tell if the driver is drunk.
The European Union now requires these systems to detect driver distraction and fatigue for safety, and starting from 2026, they must also detect driver impairment from non-fatigue causes that include alcohol use.
Already deployed in 3.7 million cars and 60,000 trucks, the system supports EU regulations mandating alcohol detection from 2026.
Seeing Machines has proposed a phased US adoption plan, reinforcing its mission to reduce road deaths and improve driver safety.
“The science is in, the research and development has been done,” said Dr Lenné. “Mitigating risks of drunk driving is now a policy decision, not a technological one.”
Seeing Machines, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Australia, is a leader in vision-based monitoring technology that enable machines to see, understand and assist people.
It has offices in Australia, USA, Europe and Asia.
As part of NHTSA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for advanced alcohol detection, Seeing Machines submitted a three-phase plan in 2024 for the adoption of DMS.
The phased plan included an initial alert to drivers about possible impairment, escalating to more robust alerts to eventually where the vehicle limits infotainment capability and entering a “limp home mode,” which also limits speed.
Seeing Machines says the addition of impairment detection in its DMS to include alcohol impairment means that one system can now detect a larger portion of behavioural causes of traffic deaths and injuries.
