Ford invented a trucker cap that fights drowsy driving
The only problem is that you have to wear a trucker cap.
Drowsy driving is dangerous, especially for truckers, who carry way more momentum as they travel down the freeway. In order to alert truckers when it might be time for a quick break, Ford put a detection system inside a trucker cap.
Ford Brazil's heavy-truck division created the Safe Cap, which looks like any other hat. However, it's loaded with sensors and hardware to combat drowsy driving. After identifying behavior that signaled drowsiness, Ford programmed its hat to pick up on those cues using an accelerometer and gyroscope.
The process for testing this hat must be pretty dull. "Just sit here and stare at the screen until you start falling asleep, please."
In the event a driver is drowsy, the cap will emit three different types of signals. The hat can vibrate, make sounds and flash lights to alert the driver when it's time to pull over, stand up and take a little break. The automaker spent eight months testing it with a select group of drivers.
Drowsy driving can be as dangerous as distracted or intoxicated driving. Reaction times get slower, and a driver can even fall asleep at the wheel and lose control entirely. This cap could certainly help fight drowsy driving and, possibly, save lives in the process.
However, Ford doesn't have any short- or medium-term plans to bring it to production. After testing, it'll enter the patent and certification stage. Beyond that, Ford plans to share the Safe Cap with partners and customers who could ferry it to market. No matter who gets it there, it could make the roads a bit safer, so here's hoping somebody follows through with it.
In the event you speak Portugese, here's a video explaining the concept: