With the dawning realization that not all #DMS offers the same #userexperience in the #cockpit, let's look at the #automaker which has put the problems of #NCAP compliance for #distraction and #drowsiness monitoring far behind it, and grasped the bigger picture of the possibilities offered by head and #eyegaze tracking of the driver. Shown below is the render of the #digitalcockpit for the BMW Group #NeueKlasse, set to start production in 2025. With software problems slowing Volkswagen Group and CARIAD, and Mercedes-Benz AG obsessed with "L3" #DrivePilot, BMW has in contrast been revolutionizing the cockpit experience with a solution integrating pillar-to-pillar display, full windshield 3D augmented-reality #HUD, center-stack display, all almost certainly powered by a Qualcomm cockpit processor.
With practically the entire #auto industry viewing #driver #monitoring #systems as little more than a box to be ticked for NCAP compliance, BMW has alone fully grasped the possibilities of head and #eyetracking to revolutionize the cockpit and fundamentally change the human-vehicle interface #HVI. We've already seen BMW integrate lane change control for automated driving using the eye gaze, but next year we are set to see aspects of the cockpit experience being controlled through the DMS. What we have is a coming together of eye gaze, gesture and voice control, to completely redefine the cockpit experience. BMW has about a three-year head start in the digital cockpit, with most other #OEMs still seemingly unable to focus beyond #handsoff and #eyesoff driving.
In terms of actual DMS production experience, BMW is far in the lead. The first-generation BMW DMS went to production in 2018 and is assumed to have used Aptiv/Smart Eye. Gen2 (current) is assumed to be a cockpit domain controller using Seeing Machines DMS. Gen3 (Neue Klasse in 2025) is assumed to be Valeo/Seeing Machines and is set to be the most advanced DMS ever to feature in a production vehicle.
With some automakers stalled by problems associated with infuriating visual distraction algorithms and others barely meeting 2023 NCAP requirements, the Gen3 DMS in the Neue Klasse looks set to have such high-fidelity eye tracking that aspect of the AR-HUD will be controlled with the eyes. With multiple graphical displays used, the DMS will require advanced human factors expertise to monitor for driver workload, cognitive distraction, attention state and engagement level.
The fundamental role of a DMS is to see and understand human behavior as it applies to crash risk. But we are now on the cusp of a breakthrough into a new set of features which will use DMS to completely redefine the cockpit experience. As so often is the case in automotive, it is BMW leading the trend.
The May 2024 edition of Semicast's market report "ADAS & Automotive Vision-based Driver Monitoring Systems" is available for purchase. Message me for a copy of the sales brochure and sample pages for the study. My inbox is open.
