WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY SCOURGE OR SAFETY NET

Wearable tech: Scourge or safety net? Written by: Wearable tech: Scourge or safety net? Around 1.2 million people across the are the primary cause of mortality driving Experts are divided in their globe are killed annually as a result for young people in the age range opinion, with many concerned that of road accidents, according to data 15-29 the risks outweigh the benefits This from the World Health Organisation briefing explores the potential for (WHO) Up to 50 million suffer As governments address road wearable technologies to deliver non-fatal injuries, many leading to safety issues with a view to reducing improvements in road safety, and permanent disability Furthermore, traffic-related injuries and deaths, examines the arguments on both WHO figures indicate that road new wearable technologies are sides of the debate accidents are the eighth leading emerging that their backers claim cause of death across the globe, and have the potential to improve Written by: The rise of wearable gadgetry Despite the worrying statistics, have set themselves ambitious road error remains a contributing factor total road fatalities across the globe safety targets Dubai is hoping to in over 90% of road collisions, remain stable amid rising vehicle eliminate all road deaths by 2020, according to the Insurance Institute ownership This relatively positive while Abu Dhabi is targeting zero for Highway Safety (IIHS), a US development is partly thanks to fatalities by 2030 non-profit organisation funded by progress in road infrastructure, in car insurers The IIHS says that education, in law enforcement and Still, observes Nick Reed, principal inadequate surveillance, distraction in emergency response to incidents human factors researcher at the inside the vehicle, and high speed For example, road deaths in the UK-based Transport Research are the most common reasons for United Arab Emirates (UAE) fell Laboratory (TRL), a consultancy, crashing from 1072 in 2008 to 720 in 2011, “the four things that most often according to official data, as the lead to death and serious injury Now, a number of companies claim authorities took steps including the have been constant: failure to wear they can improve road safety roll-out of more speed and traffic seatbelts, excessive speed, fatigue, using wearable technology, a fast- light cameras Individual emirates and alcohol.” Furthermore, human emerging sector whose products are based on “advanced circuitry, burned and heart rate There are and infotainment group “There will processing capability and wireless infotainment applications and be more and more things that will connectivity” embedded in items military and industrial uses, too accompany you, either helping your such as wristbands, jewellery, health or making your life safer,” he glasses, or clothing Applications for Wearable tech is part of a wider says The total wearable tech market wearable tech include healthcare – trend towards greater personal is worth between US$3 billion and for instance, devices that monitor assistance, points out Alon Atsmon, US$5 billion, according to a May blood sugar levels in diabetics and general manager of Infotainment 2013 research report, and may grow deliver insulin; and they include Application Services at Harman to between $30 billion and $50 general fitness applications – for International, a US-based car audio billion within 3-5 years example, devices that track calories No more drooping eyelids US-based company Skully expects to be part of that growth Founded by Marcus Weller after he suffered a motorbike crash, the firm is now testing its AR-1 augmented reality helmet amongst motorcyclists The helmet includes a head-up display, integrated rear view camera, voice-controlled user interface, and internet connectivity via smartphone If you are wearing the helmet, the firm’s website says, “you can control your music, send texts, make calls, and change your destination hands-free.” Other examples of wearable tech whose backers claim it can improve driving performance include smart watches, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Gear With the right app, wearers of the watch can make changes to their vehicle’s navigation commands, for example Meanwhile, an app for the Pebble Watch is reported to pick up potential hazards on the road and warn the motorist by means of a vibration alert One wearable gadget that is attracting attention is Google Glass, a headmounted computing device with a range of potential applications The device provides a display in the upper right hand side of the wearer’s field of vision and responds to voice commands Google is currently testing the product and plans a full-scale launch later this year Already, a number of software developers have created apps for Google Glass aimed at enhancing road safety Among these apps is DriveSafe, developed by New York-based IT analyst Jake Steinerman If the app spots signs that the driver may be drowsy, such as drooping eyelids, it sends audio-visual signals to alert the driver And Harman has adapted its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) engine for Google Glass Among other functions, the app is able to send the wearer an audio-visual alert if it senses a high risk of a collision on the road ahead Switched on? Supporters of wearable technologies Developers claim wearable claim these devices can improve technology can reduce driver driver information, helping motorists distraction Dr Reed of TRL agrees focus on driving For example, the that there are sound arguments for display in the Skully helmet or in wearable tech “making information Google Glass may be able to present more accessible and making navigation information in a handier presentation of that information way than road signs, satellite more compatible with the navigation devices, or smartphones driving task” Another point in favour of wearable tech is that it has the potential to monitor a driver’s physical state, including heartbeat and tiredness There are also “possible opportunities for summoning assistance if there is an emergency,” believes Dr Reed, “or the vehicle doing more to take over in the event that the driver passes out or has a heart attack.” Wearable technologies offer these benefits to motorists regardless of the age and specification of their vehicle Worse still, while some of those promoting wearable tech say that these gadgets can reduce distraction, the opposite may be true Dr Reed says that “there is a concern that it brings with it your Twitter feed, your Facebook status updates, your text messages, and your incoming calls,” things that he points out “could present a significant distraction.” In other words, he argues, “there is a risk of a driver failing to attend to safety-critical information about the driving task.” But these benefits may carry a cost Whilst some wearable technology such as DriveSafe specifically aims to combat fatigue, wearable technologies as a whole may in fact increase the risk of fatigue among drivers; that fatigue – both physical and mental – may worsen driving performance A further risk is sensory overload, which may result if wearable technology devices deliver a high volume of information or if that information is difficult to absorb or is irrelevant This, in turn, can lead to delayed reaction times and failure to detect critical information After trying out Google Glass at the wheel for New York-based website iDigitalTimes, Doug Goodwin, part of the IT faculty at the California Institute of the Arts, noted that the device “takes on a whole new level of distraction.” His conclusion: “Even at three to four miles per hour, it’s awful.” Harman’s Mr Atsmon concedes that Google Glass “will require some learning and might increase the cognitive load,” as wearers get used to it But he adds that, contrary to widespread misconceptions, Google Glass “takes only one eighth of one eye, which means that in most of the cases nothing is blocked and nothing is lost.” Among all the wearable tech devices aimed at improving road safety, Google Glass is dominating the debate Already in the US, numerous states are considering regulation of Google Glass for drivers Authorities in Ireland, Australia and the UK are figuring out how to deal with the device Last January, a California court acquitted a motorist who was driving whilst wearing Google Glass; the driver had been charged under legislation against use of in-car monitors whilst driving, but there was no evidence that her device was switched on A 300,000 yearold design The debate around wearable tech boils down to how well drivers can interact with evolving technology to reduce human error Here, the outcome of research by the IIHS is not encouraging Collision alert systems built into cars are effective, the IIHS finds, but they are more effective if the car can brake autonomously to avoid the collision Similarly, the IIHS concludes that lane departure alerts are ineffective unless autonomous lane correction technology is built into the car Humans clearly impede the effectiveness of road safety technologies such as these Even where people can interact effectively with road safety technologies, they may be prone to complacency For instance, a driver may feel less need to be observant, or cautious, if lulled into thinking that a wearable tech device will help steer clear of trouble on the road Increased driver assistance may tempt drivers to take greater risks in the belief they can get away with things that they otherwise would not “We [humans] are a 300,000 year old design,” points out Simon Labbett, TRL’s United Arab Emirates director “We were not designed to drive cars.” He argues that, amid all the smart technology, we may be losing sight of what the driving task entails: “Taking control of the vehicle and driving it down the road.” The smartest thing, he reckons, would be to remove humans from the driving task altogether Road infrastructure is reasonably sound, he points out; vehicles are mostly okay; it is drivers that are dangerous A logical conclusion may be to build collision-detection technologies and other such devices into the vehicles themselves, rather than strapping them to drivers “Let’s deal with the holistic approach to the vehicle rather than just a bolt-on bit that may actually not solve the problem,” argues Mr Labbett Indeed, the IIHS research into the active-control mechanisms built into cars, such as automatic emergency braking, prove the point These technologies have shown clear results, whilst wearable tech has not Looking ahead, Dr Reed of TRL speculates that “a lot more transport will be provided by vehicles that you summon and that are able to take you from your origin to your destination without the need for driving.” By then, driver error may be a thing of the past Mr Atsmon of Harman International believes that entirely autonomous driving will begin to emerge in the 2020s and 2030s, but that “some people will still want augmented reality to see where the car is going and what it is doing.” For now, as wearable tech devices make their market debut in the world’s highincome countries, 90 percent of road traffic deaths continue to occur in lowand middle-income countries According to WHO data, just 28 countries across the globe, representing fewer than 500 million people, have sound laws in place to govern the basics – speed, alcohol, helmets, seat-belts and child restraints Whatever the merits of wearable tech, addressing this shortfall has perhaps the greatest potential to save lives Acknowledgements Wearable Technology: Scourge or Safety Net? was written by the Economist Intelligence Unit It examines the growing applications of wearable technology in motoring and road safety The report was based on desk research and expert interviews The Economist Intelligence Unit would like to thank the following individuals (listed alphabetically by organisation name) for sharing their insights and expertise during the research for this paper: • Alon Atsmon, VP & GM Infotainment Application Services, Harman International, US • Nick Reed, principal human factors researcher, Transport Research Laboratory, UK • Simon Labbett, director United Arab Emirates, Transport Research Laboratory, UAE [...]...Acknowledgements Wearable Technology: Scourge or Safety Net? was written by the Economist Intelligence Unit It examines the growing applications of wearable technology in motoring and road safety The report was based on desk research and 3 expert interviews The Economist Intelligence Unit would like to thank the following individuals (listed alphabetically by organisation name) for sharing their insights... organisation name) for sharing their insights and expertise during the research for this paper: • Alon Atsmon, VP & GM Infotainment Application Services, Harman International, US • Nick Reed, principal human factors researcher, Transport Research Laboratory, UK • Simon Labbett, director United Arab Emirates, Transport Research Laboratory, UAE ... Whatever the merits of wearable tech, addressing this shortfall has perhaps the greatest potential to save lives Acknowledgements Wearable Technology: Scourge or Safety Net? was written by the... • Nick Reed, principal human factors researcher, Transport Research Laboratory, UK • Simon Labbett, director United Arab Emirates, Transport Research Laboratory, UAE .. .Wearable tech: Scourge or safety net? Around 1.2 million people across the are the primary cause of mortality driving Experts are divided in their globe are killed annually as a result for