Microsoft recently decided to come up with a solution to improve overall road safety. So, Microsoft Research developed a new technology that uses a smartphone connected to an OBD-II scanner that will detect and warn of factors that can increase the risk of accidents. Researchers have created HAMS (Harnessing AutoMobiles For Safety), a sort of a virtual harness that can oversee both the vehicle and the driver. HAMS consists of a smartphone that is attached to an OBD-II scanner and connected to Azure to collect, analyze and visualize the data which can be used to assess the risk of accidents for each individual. The smartphone needs to be placed on the car’s dashboard, the front camera of the smartphone will monitor the driver whereas the back one will keep an eye on the road. The smartphone’s GPS is being used to track the route, and the inertial sensors can determine the unusual behavior from the driver and the car. Microsoft said “Based on the raw data obtained from these sensors, we have built detectors for various events of interest including driver distraction, fatigue, etc. and also for vehicle ranging, to determine whether a safe separation distance is being maintained,” Redmond had already tested and analyzed this technology on more than 10,000 km of data in just a few month. But the firm said that it still need improvements and they are working on it. Microsoft further explains that this technology will prove beneficial on cabs, buses or trucks where drivers can be monitored easily by their supervisors and can get alerts whenever the higher risks of accidents are detected. The firm notes “It is our thesis that improving road conditions, vehicle health and, most importantly, driver discipline would help boost road safety. Indeed, among the leading causes of road accidents are such factors as speeding, drunk driving, and driver distractions, all of which can be mitigated through better driver discipline. The key to bringing about an improvement is effective monitoring leading to actionable feedback” Right now the latest technology is in a development phase, and the company expects that in coming months, it could make its way to select fleets. Microsoft research also posted a video showing it in action (see below).
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