Predicting boneheaded driving with technology

Let’s face it, almost all automobile crashes are caused by human error. But what if there were a way to predict driving mistakes right before they happen?

我们不得不承认，大部分汽车事故是人为失误造成的。但如果可以在事故发生前就预测到驾驶错误会是怎么样呢？

That’s the promise of new technology under development by researchers at Cornell and Stanford universities. While many cars already have sensors and cameras that watch line markings and surrounding vehicles, this new system also uses cameras inside the car to monitor the driver.

这正是康奈尔和斯坦福大学的研究人员研究的新课题。现在许多车已经安装了传感器和摄像头以观测交通标线和周围车辆，研究人员开发的新系统也在车内安装了摄像头以监控司机。

Subtle movements of the head and body can indicate that a driver is about to turn or change lanes in the next few seconds. With that information, combined with data from sensors outside the car, computers can predict that a driver is going to make a dangerous move. Example: turning left in front of an oncoming car.

头部和身体的轻微运动表明司机或许马上就要转向或变换车道。有了这样的分析，再加上车外的传感器传来的数据，电脑就能预测司机将要做危险的举动，比如：后面有车时左转。

The driver could then be warned that he is about to cause a crash.

此时系统就会提示司机他快要撞车了。

The system could also use GPS data to warn a driver that, say, the turn he’s about to make is illegal at that time of day..

系统也会利用GPS数据提示司机其他事项，比如，在他即将转向时提醒他此时转向是不允许的。

To develop the system, Cornell’s Ashutosh Saxena and his colleagues recorded video of 10 drivers and combined it with video looking forward from their cars as they drove. In all, almost 1,200 miles of city and highway driving over two months was recorded and analyzed.

为了开发此系统，康奈尔大学的Ashutosh Saxena和他的同事们记录了10个司机的录像，并结合了他们车内的前置摄像头数据，记录并分析了两个月市内和高速公路上共1200英里的路程。

Computers learned to correlate certain head and body movements with impending driving maneuvers. When tested later with a different set of drivers, the technology correctly predicted driving maneuvers 77.4% of the time. On average, a turn or lane change was anticipated more than 3.5 seconds before it happened.

电脑系统知晓了某些特定的头部和身体运动意味着某些驾驶动作即将发生。当换了另一组司机后，此系统预测司机动作的准确率达77.4%。平均3.5秒之前，系统就能预测转向或变道。

More refinement is still needed, according to the researchers. Drivers interacting with passengers could confound the system. And some driving situations, like turning from a turn-only lane, don’t always involve the same physical cues..

但研究人员表示，此系统还需要进行改善。比如司机和乘客交谈就会扰乱系统。同时有些情况下，身体动作并不一定传递常规信号，比如在单向转弯道转弯时就是如此。

Eye-tracking capability and more sophisticated cameras could be added for greater precision. Sensors could be added to the steering wheel and pedals to pick up a driver’s movements.

眼球追踪系统和更精密的摄像头可提高系统精确性。并且，在方向盘和踏板上可以安装传感器以记录司机的动作。

So far, this technology is in the early stages, but the researchers are in active discussions with automakers, Saxena said.

Saxena表示，迄今为止，这项技术仍在萌芽阶段，但研究人员正与汽车制造商积极探讨此技术。

完成阅读

来源:CNN英语爱语吧作者:Sunmore