SRI International Debuts "Emotional AI" Vision Technology to Advance the Driving Experience
Ability to monitor, understand, adapt and respond to the immediate emotional state of drivers means a safer, more meaningful journey
MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SRI International (SRI), a leading global nonprofit research center, today announced its advanced Emotional Artificial Intelligence (AI) automotive technology that will enable the next-generation of vehicles to detect the driver's emotions and respond accordingly.
SRI's advanced AI technology will learn from and grow with the driver to effectively allow humans and automobiles to become mobile partners. The Emotional AI technology is designed for the next generation of vehicles that will better integrate the promise of advanced technology with an enhanced driving experience, and is available for commercialization. Toyota Motor Corporation will be incorporating the first phase of SRI's Emotional AI technology—vision—into the 'LQ', a concept car it will introduce this fall at the Tokyo Motor Show, starting October 24th. Sample cars will be ready by the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics beginning July 24th 2020.
The vision AI will observe drivers and monitor their emotional and physical state. It will learn to pick up gestures and non-verbal behaviors such as the driver's expressions and actions. For example, the car can direct the driver toward a more scenic and relaxing route if the driver appears sad. Another scenario includes detecting the alertness/drowsiness of the driver (eye movement, blinking patterns, patterns of head movement) to decrease accidents by playing sounds to wake up the driver, blow cold air, or direct the driver to immediately pull over.
SRI researcher, Amir Tamrakar will introduce SRI's new emotional vision AI feature for cars during a panel discussion on conversational applications at the AI World conference (https://aiworld.com/conversational-ai).
"We embarked on a mission to enable cars to understand and partner with drivers. For in-car AI to succeed it has to recognize human emotion and physical state," said SRI's William Mark, President of Information & Computing Sciences. "SRI's developments in emotional AI vision technology will lead to an enriched driving experience. For the first time your car will understand you."
"Imagine a vehicle that applies deep learning AI to infer emotions and estimate the driver's state," said Daisuke Ido, Chief Engineer of Toyota LQ. "By working with SRI to develop AI technology that monitors the driver, Toyota can advance safety technology and peace of mind to a higher level."
About SRI International
SRI International is an independent, nonprofit research center that works with clients to take the most advanced R&D from the laboratory to the marketplace. SRI is headquartered at Menlo Park, California, USA. Serving government and industry, they collaborate across technical and scientific disciplines to generate real innovation and create high value for clients. They invent solutions that solve the most challenging problems today and look ahead to the needs of the future. For more than 70 years, SRI has led the discovery and design of ground-breaking products, technologies, and industries – from Siri and online banking to medical ultrasound, cancer treatments, and much more.
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