When self-driving cars gain broad acceptance, the monitoring cameras and the artificial-intelligence software behind them will likely be used to help create a more customized ride for the passengers.."There’s no doubt this is a hot area,” said Modar Alaoui, founder and CEO of Eyeris, in a recent interview. "I promise you that companies that are trying to monetize data from the connected car are investigating ways to use eye-tracking technology.” advised one post. As vehicles get smarter, your car will be keeping eyes on you. 

This week at CES, the international consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, a host of startup companies will demonstrate to global automakers how the sensor technology that watches and analyzes drivers, passengers and objects in cars will mean enhanced safety in the short-term, and revenue opportunities in the future. The future of the technology rests in deciphering what a vehicle occupant wants, then fusing that with other technologies in order to create a more personalized ride.ST, Australia’s Seeing Machines Ltd, and Vayyar Imaging Ltd, another Israeli company using radar instead of vision, are crowding the space. Audi and Tesla Inc have developed systems but they are not currently activated.Alaoui believes once automakers see the benefits of a camera tracking the driver, they will opt for more. Right now, self-driving cars are still mainly at the testing stage. Right now, however, such cameras are being used mainly to enhance safety, not unlike a helpful backseat driver. Whether by generating alerts about drowsiness, unfastened seat belts or wallets left in the backseat, the emerging technology aims not only to cut back on distracted driving and other undesirable behavior, but eventually help automakers and ride-hailing companies make money from data generated inside the vehicle.

European car safety rating program Euro NCAP has proposed that cars with driver monitoring for 2020 should earn higher ratings.It is not yet clear how consumers in the age of Facebook Inc and virtual assistants like Amazon.In-car sensor technology is deemed critical to the full deployment of self-driving cars, which analysts say is still likely years away in the United States."The more you know about the user, the more you’re able to fulfill his or her needs,” said Eric Montague, senior director of strategy for Nuance Automotive.."Put a small piece of scotch tape on it . If a passenger looks toward the dashboard, a certain control could light up to help anticipate a need."They think they’re in their own living room, they behave like they’re not outside! It’s obvious no one wants a camera,” Melamed said.”

DATA BRINGS TIE-INSPotential uses go way beyond mere tracking of a driver’s gaze. and you can nose pick again ."The reason (the camera) is going to sweep across the cabin is not because of distraction . but because of all the side benefits,” said Mike Ramsey, Gartner’s automotive research director.Companies such as Israel’s Guardian Optical Technologies and eyeSight Technologies, Silicon Valley’s Eyeris Technologies Inc, Sweden’s Smart Eye AB SEYE. A billboard advertiser might be eager to know how many commuters look at his sign, Ramsey said.. His company combines five 2D cameras with AI technology for "in-vehicle scene understanding,” including car occupants’ height, weight, gender and posture..Some still see interior cameras as a bad idea, however. Nuance’s connected car platform mixes eye-tracking technology, voice recognition and even emotion analysis, from a company called Affectiva. Many have already signed undisclosed deals for production year 2020 and beyond. As Guardian Optical CEO Gil China batteries Dotan said, "What automakers want is what either sells cars, or what regulators tell them to do

Carmakers could gather anonymized data and sell it..Interior-facing cameras inside the car are still a novelty, currently found only in the 2018 Cadillac CT6. In the wake of a 2016 fatal Tesla crash, the US National Transportation Safety Board recommended automakers develop means to better track driver engagement.Companies say automakers will decide how the metadata is used, but consumers will be able to opt out.com Inc’s Alexa will react to the potentially disconcerting idea of being watched - then warned - inside a vehicle, especially as cars become living rooms with the advent of self-driving..Automakers are paying attention for multiple reasons. That will become essential as cars become more autonomous, for "Level 3” autonomy where the car handles most driving but returns control to the driver in trickier situations. Startup Nauto’s camera and AI-based tech is used by commercial fleets.In-car sensor technology is deemed critical to the full deployment of self-driving cars. Mazda, Subaru and electric vehicle start-up Byton are introducing cars for 2019 whose cameras measure driver inattention.But automakers are more excited by the revenue possibilities when vehicle-generated data creates a more customized experience for riders, generating higher premiums, and lucrative tie-ins with third parties, such as retailers. Cars are still considered private zones, said CEO and cofounder Raviv Melamed, who pointed to how many people perform personal tasks in their cars. Eye tracking can determine if a driver is not paying attention, or worse, is asleep.Tracking the gaze of a passenger toward a store or restaurant could, fused with mapping and other software, result in a discount offered to that person.”Regulators like the technology at its most basic.Whether by generating alerts about drowsiness, unfastened seat belts or wallets left in the backseat, the emerging technology aims not only to cut back on distracted driving and other undesirable behavior, but eventually help automakers and ride-hailing companies make money from data generated inside the vehicle.The more sophisticated in-car monitoring also could respond to concerns that technology that automates some – but not all – driving tasks could lead motorists to stop paying attention and not be ready to retake control should the situation demand it.Analysis from driver monitoring technology could help turn on the heat, lower the seat or play a certain kind of music when a particular occupant enters the car. Vayyar uses radar that tracks head movements without cameras

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And it is proving to be the same for charging stations - Ola was forced to close one in Nagpur last year after protests by residents angered by traffic jams caused by drivers.Ola has deep pockets and while it has tied-up with Mahindra for the pilot project, its struggle to make the fleet viable in a small Indian city with much less congestion and space constraints than the biggest cities like Mumbai, underscores the magnitude of the challenges.

Once we make an investment there are huge risks,” said Akito Tachibana, managing director of Toyota’s India arm, adding as of now there is no clarity on who would buy such cars and what incentives the government will offer.Gadkari added to uncertainty lead acid batteries factory when he said last month that the government will no longer draft a separate electric vehicle policy. He did not comment on the 2030 vision.Another issue is lack of a long-term policy, outlining incentives, which has helped countries like China push electric vehicle sales.By comparison, in China in 2017, electric vehicles made up about 2 per cent of annual passenger car sales of 24.71) at the end of a 14-hour day giving him little time to rest or spend with his family.

The project’s not flying as of now and the economics is not working out,” the source said.Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal told Reuters last April that the company would pilot a few thousand electric vehicles in several Indian cities in 2017 and then scale up in a major way.1 per cent of annual sales of more than 3 million passenger cars.The cars are owned by Ola and leased to drivers for 1,000 rupees a day, but many complain that the amount is too high and they need to work for 12-16 hours to make a decent living, given they waste 3-4 hours a day on charging. 

This has spurred billions of dollars in investments by carmakers like Volkswagen and Ford Motor even as many in the industry say they are unsure who will buy the massive numbers of electric vehicles governments want them to produce. Ola has since added 10 additional charging points but is still short of its target. The ministry of heavy industries estimates a subsidy worth 140 billion rupees ($2.Automakers argue in the near-term the government should make land available and invest in building stations, while over the longer-term it would need to offer incentives to private investors.The Ola project has not turned out to be economically viable for either the company or its drivers, said one industry source familiar with Ola’s strategy.The Indian government had been determined to promote electric vehicle use, starting with public transport and taxis, to combat rising pollution and reduce the nation’s dependence on imported oil.

Magnitude of challengesMahindra & Mahindra is the only electric carmaker in India and the high cost of even its entry-level model, which starts at 760,000 rupees ($11,665) is a barrier for many first-time car buyers, and a non-starter for taxi drivers who can get a diesel or gasoline propelled car for about half the price. So far, though, it has only exposed fractures in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions to make all new vehicles electric by 2030. However, almost a year later it has still to take the experiment beyond Nagpur.One of the drivers said that after paying Ola the rent for the car and shelling out 500-600 rupees per day for charging, he is left with about 500 rupees ($7.7 million.

A shortage of stations and the limited range of cars - about 100 kilometers - has meant longer queues to recharge.Getting infrastructure built in the world’s biggest democracy where a not-in-my-backyard culture proliferates is a barrier for a lot of businesses in India.5 million people - for its fleet of 200 electric vehicles, but on a visit to the city in late January, Reuters found only about a dozen charging points. During summer months when batteries discharge faster and need to be recharged more, the situation may worsen unless more charging points are added, said several drivers, none of whom wanted to be named as they feared retribution from the company. The lack of demand is mainly because they are expensive - due to high battery costs - and as their range is limited and there isn’t a charging infrastructure.Out of 20 Ola electric car drivers interviewed by Reuters in Nagpur, more than a dozen said they have either returned their electric taxis and switched to diesel, or are planning to do so.Electric car sales in India, one of the world’s fastest-growing auto markets, made up less than 0.With an initial investment of about $8 million, Softbank-backed Ola launched the project last year at an event that had all the trappings of a state function, including a big gathering and flagging off by Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. It took more than five months to get government clearances to begin operating another station.

But nine months later, the program has hit a snag: Ola drivers, unhappy with long wait times at charging stations and high operating expenses, want to return their cars and switch to fuel-guzzling variants.Ola did not respond to requests for comment for this article."If they don’t give us the (charging) facility, why should we drive these cars,” said the driver, who had just spent an hour waiting for his turn to charge the car, and would have to wait for another 90 minutes while it charges.One additional problem is that, unlike in Western countries, most car owners in India do not have garages, or formal parking where chargers for cars could be installed."Any distraction from the single-minded focus to draw a plan for introducing electric vehicles is going to make this a long-lasting exercise that might not attract the attention of the right kind of investors,” cautions Guenter Butschek, managing director at Tata Motors.Repeatedly warnedGlobal auto makers have repeatedly warned that India is not ready for electrification, saying the government must first lay down a clear, long-term policy, provide incentives to encourage manufacturing of electric vehicles to bring down their cost and create the charging infrastructure. Nagpur: Indian ride-hailing firm Ola’s pilot project to test a fleet of electric vehicles in Nagpur was expected to herald a coming revolution in the Indian autos industry.2 billion) will be needed to promote EVs and charging infrastructure.India’s 2030 ambition was part of a broader move by countries like China and the United Kingdom, which have set similar goals. Government wrangling over policy formulation in India is making it difficult for carmakers to plan investments. India has only about 222 charging stations with 353 charging points, according to a January report by global consultancy EY.Huge risksAt India’s biennial auto show in February, electric cars took centre stage but most were at a concept stage or sold only in global markets as automakers like Toyota, Honda and Renault took a circumspect approach to the new tilt toward electrification.

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It’s the first bioelectric toilet which recycles waste water for use, and in the process, generates electricity to light up the building.Besides the advantage of stacking many of these miniature paper batteries filled with a little sewage water for production of electricity, the cost of each unit less than Rs 5 makes them ideal devices for use in rural areas on shoe-string budgets. "One of the best advantages of these devices is that they are 100 per cent biodegradable and environment friendly, which is not the case with chemical batteries,” he added.. Prof. Well, not just another toilet. This team has applied for a patent, given such an array of advantages."We are trying to make improvisations so that it is more user-friendly.Not far from his Civil Engineering Department, on the IIT campus, Prof. Debabrata Das says these miniature paper batteries need as little as 400 micro litres of wastewater containing bacteria to produce about five microwatts of electricity. 

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