AI-Powered Device Seeks to Improve Driver Behaviour and Road Safety

Italian innovation company, K2, have developed an AI-powered solution that observes and detects driver distractions such as mobile phone use, interactions with passengers and extended interactions with a car’s central console.

Developed using low-cost and environmentally friendly hardware, the patented device - “LIM” (Life is More) - processes real-time video streams to detect behavioural anomalies.
When the system detects a distraction, it triggers an acoustic alarm, not unlike the dashboard alert that sounds when a driver fails to insert their seatbelt. The acoustic alarm ceases once the driver has corrected their behaviour.
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If drivers do not correct their behaviour within a predefined duration, the system registers an infringement, which is recorded on a GDPR-compliant cloud-based system.

Mounted on the passenger side of a vehicle, K2’s camera-driven device has been trained to analyse hundreds of driver behaviours and to estimate the risk associated with each of them, explains Marco Gatti, K2’s Chief Growth Officer: “Our compact, low-energy device is mounted on the vehicle's passenger side using a simple suction cup and is powered by USB”.

“We have trained our device to identify hundreds of behaviours associated with phone use, messaging, engaging with passengers or objects in the rear of the vehicle and central console use”.

“It measures the risk associated with each of those behaviours using a scoring index - a greater risk factor will result in a larger score”.

“For example, if a driver is staring directly at the windscreen and has their hands in the ten to two position on the steering wheel, our system will index a low-risk score”.

“Our device is triggered if a driver engages in a high-risk behaviour like leaning down to engage with their phone, holding their phone to their ear, engaging with the car’s central console or a phone mounted on the windscreen”, says Gatti.

“If the system identifies an infringement, an acoustic alarm is triggered warning the driver to correct their behaviour”.

“If the driver does not correct their behaviour within a predefined period, our system notes that an infringement event has occurred and a GDPR-compliant recording is uploaded to the cloud”.

Although other systems like signal blockers, smartphone monitoring software and sensors to verify that the driver has both hands on the steering wheel are available, Gatti believes that K2’s solution can deliver real-time benefits for users.

“Many of the other products out there are designed to monitor behaviour rather than attempting to improve driving behaviour”.

“Our GDPR-compliant solution solution does both. Which is massively important from a road safety perspective”.

“It is also significant for insurance companies, who can use our device to accurately assess risk and reward drivers who don’t engage in high-risk behaviours or those who have made an effort to change their behaviour”.

“Public transportation companies can also harness our system to demonstrate the professionalism of their drivers, while car rental organisations can employ it to warn drivers that they might be trying to access mapping functions while driving for example”.

“It’s for these reasons that we’re developing a new iteration of the device. We anticipate that it will be placed in a less visible position, integrated into, or installed near the rear-view mirror”.

K2’s AI-powered device has been published on Crowdhelix, a global collaboration platform that seeks to connect and commercialise innovative research projects across its global network of 700 universities, and businesses spread across 56 different countries.

The potential of K2’s solution immediately resonated with Crowdhelix’s CEO, Michael Browne, who believes that the device could make a very real impact on our roads.

“In 2022, the European Commission published a report which found that using your mobile phone to dial while driving increased your risk of becoming involved in a traffic accident by a factor of 12”.

“Likewise, texting increased your risk by a factor of six. While hands-free options negate the need to engage with your phone, the report found that the cognitive distraction mirrors that of using a handheld device”.

“All of which means that if we want to reduce the risk of road traffic accidents, we need to reduce driver distraction”.

“K2’s innovative device embraces cutting-edge AI technology to change behaviours and improve road safety”.

“It also demonstrates what can be achieved when experts from multiple fields collaborate on projects like these. K2’s solution isn’t abstract, it can help to save lives and deliver real-world impact”.