Why Do I Feel Like, Somebody's Watching Me?
JoeMerchant writes:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/federal-surveillance-tech-becomes-mandatory-161321992.html
Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, requires NHTSA to finalize rules forcing all new passenger vehicles to include "advanced impaired driving prevention technology": infrared cameras and sensors which perform a constant biometric assessment of driver alertness and sobriety.
The tech involves infrared cameras mounted on steering columns or A-pillars, tracking eye movement, pupil dilation, and drowsiness patterns. Your car watches and decides whether you're fit to drive.
Timeline for Implementation
The surveillance rollout targets late 2026 to 2027 for all new passenger vehicles.
While NHTSA's final rule faced delays beyond the November 2024 deadline, automakers will still get 2-3 years for full implementation once regulations are finalized.
The timing coincides with broader automotive software integration, making these systems potentially updatable through over-the-air patches-expanding monitoring capabilities post-purchase.
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My deepest apologies to the world for any small part I may have played in this development. In 2012 I submitted an "idea" paper to an anonymous solicitor asking for ways to better integrate smartphones with in-vehicle systems. In that paper (which I wrote carelessly off the top of my head) I suggested that automobiles should abandon the then current practice of using under-powered embedded systems and instead install a desktop level capability computer utilizing standard development tools. I also pointed out the ability of such a system to use OpenCV to perform this kind of monitoring as an opt-in, or parental control type of system - not really thinking through the (not obvious at the time) future of insurance and federally mandated continuous monitoring of all drivers (as Elmo has already demonstrated broad popular compliance with in his Tesla products...) They awarded me 3rd place in the competiton and sent me a check for $2000, which came at a very good time for the family - having been laid off in the post-Afghanistan pullout techonomic upheaval. I'm sure I'm not the only one to point out these things around that time...
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