Industry News from Yes Insurance

A new system is being developed by scientists that will be able to read the facial expressions of drivers and help prevent them from being involved in accidents.

Experts at the University of Cambridge are developing the technology that will analyse the facial expressions of drivers, effectively reading their thoughts and mood.

This could lead to huge advances in road safety as the system will be able to tell if a driver is becoming drowsy or suffering road rage and act accordingly.

The technology works using a camera which tracks 24 areas of the face, for instance an eyebrow or part of the mouth, and relays the information to a computer programme.

The programme can then recognise different combinations of movements and relate them to certain emotions.

"The system can already cope with the variation in people's facial composition, for example if you have a round or thin face, or if you wear glasses or have a beard," says Peter Robinson, professor of computer technology at the University of Cambridge.

However, the scientists are running into problems when it comes to detecting emotions while driving as these are expressed more subtly.

"They are not as animated as they would be for example if you were talking face to face or even on the phone," he explains.

"However, if we can crack this, the system would have fantastic potential to improve driver safety and prevent accidents."

The system is being unveiled at this week's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition and if introduced could go some way to reducing the number of claims made to car insurance providers.

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