Cars With Facial Recognition Software? What Students in Automotive Training Schools Need to Know
Many of today’s most fun and exciting technological developments are about improving efficiency, or reducing the need for a person to perform certain steps to complete a task. It’s why companies are creating light bulbs that turn on automatically when you walk through the door, speakers that can tell you the weather forecast if you ask, and other fun and interesting gadgets that can save you time and effort.
One cool technological development coming to cars will try to do just that. New facial recognition technology is meant to make life just a little easier for drivers everywhere. Curious about how the technology could simplify car ownership and operation? Here’s a taste of what it could do.
After Your Car Mechanic Training, You Might See Car Settings Tied to Facial Recognition
To drive a car safely and comfortably, several user preferences need to be set. Each driver has their own preference for things like seat positioning, mirror angling, climate control, and more. When they share a vehicle with someone else, they will often need to spend their time making adjustments to all of these settings whenever they use the car after that other person.
Facial recognition technology could eliminate the need for this. A camera on the inside of the car could register the features of a particular driver’s face, and then immediately adjust its various components and features to match the settings the driver likes best. It’s a rather small problem to solve, but combined with the other conveniences of modern life, it could contribute to significantly more time for drivers.
Facial Recognition Technology Could Also Lead to Better Car Security
As some students in automotive training schools may know, Ford and Intel have teamed up to work on their own facial recognition technology. Together, they’re working to creates cars that:
- Are set to only turn on if the driver’s face is recognized and authorized
- Have cameras that are remotely accessible
- Let camera images stream to a smartphone
For drivers who want to place restrictions on how and when their cars can be used, and for those who want to keep tabs to ensure other drivers are being safe, improvements like these could offer a big boost in car security.
The technology already exists to do these kinds of things, so the only things stopping wide implementation are figuring out how to implement them in an attractive, cost-effective way. You might soon see features like these pop up in your automotive mechanic career.
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During Your Automotive Mechanic Career, Facial Recognition Could Combine With Autonomous Driving
In cars that offer semi-autonomous driving—like current Tesla cars—drivers can enjoy letting the car drive for them in some situations, but are expected to take over if they think an accident could be imminent. To do that, of course, they need to be paying attention.
Facial recognition technology could allow a car to detect when a human is paying attention, and whether they’re ready to intervene if necessary. By using camera sensors and specialized software, the car could track eye positioning and movement, and perhaps trigger a warning if it sees that the driver isn’t alert. This sort of feature might not be necessary when cars are fully autonomous, but in the nearer future, it could prove useful.
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