DMS: A boon for carmakers – The Manila Times
A RECENT global technology research shows that shipments of vehicles featuring camera-based driver monitoring systems (DMS) will jump from 8 million in 2022 to 47 million in 2027, more than 50 percent of global new vehicle sales.
These systems offer reliable real-time driver distraction monitoring as a means to prevent accidents. While mainly driven by regulation, they also enable a range of infotainment-related features that will provide carmakers with the opportunity to recoup their investments.
Because DMS will become mandated, carmakers, especially in the mass market, were initially interested in deploying the minimal EU General Safety Regulation (GSR) requirements. However, standard mandated advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features drive an additional cost into the vehicle that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) could not quickly or easily recuperate.
“Hence, envisioning additional use cases that use the available sensor technology has become imperative,” said Maite Bezerra, Smart Mobility & Automotive Industry analyst at ABI Research.
“With the realization that monetization opportunities could be realized with the same DMS hardware and minor incremental software investment, most carmakers' DMS RFQs (Request for Proposal for Implementation of Document Management System) now request two to three features beyond driver attention monitoring.”
DMS safety-related detection capabilities include drowsiness, distraction, seatbelt use, smoking, and phone use. However, DMS could also support several convenience features. For example, the driver's head position and gaze direction input could enable augmented reality (AR) head-up displays and 3D dashboards to provide information about points of interest (e.g., Mercedes' MBUX Travel Knowledge) or to highlight or tone down information in the cockpit, decreasing energy consumption in EVs. Advanced cognitive load detection capabilities could be used by personal assistants to measure the driver's stress level, mood or health, and make suggestions or take actions accordingly. Examples include Cerence Co-Pilot, Nvidia Concierge, and NIO's NOMI.
“There is also interest in using the driver's medical status, such as heart and respiration rates, to determine stress level and medical condition after accidents,” Bezerra said.
Expanding the DMS scope to occupant monitoring systems (OMS) within the same camera is another clear trend due to the broad range of monetizable use cases enabled by camera-based OMS.
“OMS' primary use case is detecting children or pets left behind, but input could be used to enhance passenger safety and convenience,” Bezerra said. “For example, the camera could detect the incorrect use of seatbelts, and the occupant's position in the car could be used to regulate airbag deployment more effectively. Regarding convenience, the camera could be used for selfies, videoconferences, remote vehicle motoring, and multiuser in-cabin and media content customization.”
ABI Research forecasts that nearly 10 million vehicles will be shipped with single-camera DMS and OMS, offered by companies including Seeing Machines, Cipia, Tobii and Jungo, in 2028.
“Moving forward, DMS and OMS will be critical sensors enabling next-generation automotive HMI and UX. Machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), multimodal input and output channels, and unprecedented integration with vehicle sensors, domains, location data and other IoT devices will be combined to provide an intuitive, humanized and seamless in-car user experience,” Bezerra said.
