Driverless minicabs of the future could be fitted with sensors to keep tabs on a passenger’s anxiety levels, under pioneering plans to help provide a stress-free trip.
In-car tech could monitor changes in heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, sweat levels and how many times a rider peers through the rear window. Any instances of “laughter, coughing, and/or humming” would also be cross-checked against the vehicle’s speed and location, with sudden braking or near-misses all logged and fed back to the controls.
The proposals are outlined in a patent application submitted to the European Patent Office by Uber. Before the vehicle sets off, a passenger’s baseline heartbeat would be noted and then checked for fluctuations throughout the trip.
The patent says Uber’s biometrically-monitored vehicle could cross-reference details such as the car’s speed with passengers’ body weight, blood pressure, heart rate and blink rate.
They want passengers’ devices such as smart watches, Fitbit-type wearables and chest strap heart monitors to help them measure reactions. It is proposed these metrics would be combined with technology inside the car, including temperature and speed sensors, infrared cameras and microphones.
Cameras would also monitor how much a customer taps their feet or drums their fingers, indicating nervousness, while microphones would check for “a sudden intake of breath” or how loud a passenger talks.
Noises made by a passenger could also be cross-referenced with the vehicle’s speed, location and performance, such as whether it is going too fast, brakes too sharply or gets too close to a cyclist.
Facial expressions, skin temperature and moisture levels would be measured, along with the loudness and pitch of a person’s voice to monitor stress levels.Uber would even know if a nervous traveller was gripping the door through embedded pressure sensors.
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, inside the minicab would use data to create a more “satisfying” trip and could also speak to its passenger asking “How do you feel?” or “Are you okay?” and then adjust speed.
Uber has been testing self-driving cars, but their use on roads and as minicabs will depend on future legislation allowing that. Uber declined to comment on the patent.
