Can Machine Vision and AI Help Spot Drivers Texting While on the Road?

You’ve probably seen a driver ahead moving slowly and swerving from right to left. As you pass, you see the driver looking down at their phone. Thankfully, machine vision and Artificial Intelligence (AI) may soon help to eliminate the threat of distracted driving. The technology to make it happen is likely available now or will be very soon.

Machine Vision and AI Now Viable for Image Processing

Thanks to recent breakthroughs in AI, machine vision is already being used to analyze images on your daily commute. Image processing has improved so that it can now detect, classify, and predict what actions people and vehicles will take. In a split second, the system can figure out how to respond to real events.

The latest machine vision and AI technologies have increased their accuracy and decreased false alarms when analyzing what’s happening on the road. Take shadows, for example. Your eye has an uncanny ability to detect shadows. But traditionally, computers have been easy to fool. Shadows from trees, clouds, and buildings were recognized as objects, sending out an alarm.

Shadows from cars, trucks, and other vehicles add more levels of complexity. This is mostly because they move and follow the vehicles around. But deep learning can be used to teach machine vision systems how to identify vehicles and ignore shadows. With improved accuracy, machine vision and AI can create smarter roads and reduce traffic accidents.

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Eliminating Threats with Machine Vision and AI

Traffic Management Centers (TMCs) around the world monitor and manage traffic for millions of drivers every day. The centers inform drivers, law enforcement, and local governments in real-time. Video surveillance monitors roads, intersections, and other parts of the infrastructure to help keep traffic flowing smoothly.

Crashes obviously create hazards for other drivers on the road. But, TMCs have the technology they need to send out alerts about behaviors that may result in an accident. As you likely know from personal experience, humans aren’t very good at concentrating on one task for an extended amount of time. Here’s where AI can help.

To increase effectiveness, TMCs can deploy machine vision and AI technology to scan the road for hazards 24/7. With machine vision technology, AI can detect that a driver is driving erratically. It can see the driver through the windshield and ascertain that they are texting while driving. Then the system can notify law enforcement to respond, making the roads safer for all.

Visit the Vision and Imaging Technologies blog to find out how new applications for machine vision and AI are improving the lives of people around the world.