A Chinese tech company, Huawei, is reportedly working on new technology that would detect car drivers’ moods or state of drunkenness. This would work by using machine learning and sensors that would scan for signs that a driver is tired, distracted, or drunk. Additionally, there would be cameras in place to detect the driver’s state of being, according to The Daily Express . The car would also be able to ask the driver a series of questions to determine his or her ability to drive safely.
And if a driver is deemed to be too drunk to drive, the car could call the police on the driver. The car is also allegedly going to know if you have a bad case of road rage, detailed Sacramento CBS . At any rate, the car could also lock down the controls to keep you from driving anywhere. Huawei recently filed a patent at the European Patent Office, making their research and development known to the public.
The real-life application of this technology is still in the future. However, considering that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continues to issue warnings about other countries using Huawei 5G technology, it would be surprising if the tech made its way to U.S. cars. In addition, Pompeo warned that the whole world should keep its “eyes wide open” when operating in countries with Huawei 5G due to security concerns, according to CNET .
Left turns are hard for self-driving cars and people alike https://t.co/AxiFRVzXoI pic.twitter.com/sZm9qM5PsL
— Popular Science (@PopSci) March 1, 2019
In particular, U.S. security experts believe that Huawei is extracting information gathered from Huawei’s 5G wireless networks outside of China, and handing over the data to the Chinese government. This has led to the U.S. government to voice their concerns to countries worldwide, with Pompeo declaring repeated warnings.
“If a country adopts this and puts it in some of their critical information systems, we won’t be able to share information with them. In some cases there’s risk — we won’t even be able to co-locate American resources, an American embassy, an American military outpost.”
“We want to make sure that the world has their eyes wide open as to the risks of having that technology to be part of infrastructure, backbone or networks,” he added.
With that being said, Huawei isn’t going to roll over without a fight. CNBC detailed that the company took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal , which was an “open letter” from the senior vice president and director of the company’s board saying there are “some misunderstandings about us.”
Huawei to be arraigned in U.S. fraud case in New York on March 14 https://t.co/Yajbu61pec pic.twitter.com/5N3ZA6Bbgz
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 2, 2019