Ford Wearable Can Help Warn of Driver Drowsiness

Ford has conceptualized and designed a unique wearable that can help alert drivers if they happen to nod off while taking a long trip. The wearable safety device is essentially a cap that is meant to prevent them from falling asleep while at the wheel.

Called the Ford SafeCap, the Cap is the outcome of collaboration between the automotive manufacturer and the Sao Paolo, Brazil, office of advertising agency GTB. Ford developed the SmartCap to mark 60 years of truck production in Brazil.

Billed as a fatigue management tool, the SafeCap comes with sensors and a gyroscope that follow the head movements of a motorist, especially the relaxation of neck muscles. This is typically seen when a driver becomes drowsy or has fallen asleep. When the sensors are activated, the cap vibrates and generates sound and light.

Safe Cap still is in the prototype phase but it has already been modified over 30 times. According to Ford, the company is looking for interest from other partners in making the technology commercially viable so that the SmartCap can be made available to drivers around the world within a period of one year. Currently, the company is conducting tests in Brazil, and the goal is to introduce the SmartCap in other markets after the tests in Brazil are completed.