Tesla will count drivers’ yawns to issue “excessive sleepiness” warnings
If the driver looks tired, the car will give an audible and visual warning.
From now on, Tesla will assess driver fatigue with a new “drowsiness warning” feature. An audible and visual notification will be sent if the driver blinks or yawns too often – this will be monitored by a camera in the cabin, which simultaneously monitors whether the person driving is keeping their eyes on the road.
Rumors of the new feature spread back in May when Tesla hacker Green tracked it down in the software.
In operation, the tool learns both facial features and driving behavior, and then issues an alert on the touchscreen and amplifies it with a sound signal. You can disable the feature in the security controls. At the same time, the drowsiness warning is automatically activated only if the autopilot is on and the car is moving at a speed of more than 60 km/h.
Earlier, Tesla announced its financial results for the third quarter, where the automaker’s profits fell by 44% to $1.9 billion compared to $3.3 billion in the same period last year.
