Ford has designed a cap to keep truckers awake. In doing so, the car manufacturer hopes to prevent a lot of accidents.
The special cap is called the SafeCap and was designed in honour of Ford's 60th anniversary in Brazil. Creative design agency GTB, based in Sao Paolo, collaborated on the design. It looks like a simple baseball cap but is like a piece of wearable technology to keep truck drivers on their toes.
Reducing accidents
Ford wants to do something about the accidents that happen as a result of fatigue and drivers falling asleep. According to the Harvard School of Medicine, 250,000 drivers a day fall asleep in the United States alone. This still causes many accidents.
Head movements
Working with the Brazilian agency, the automaker has figured out the exact difference between attentive driving and non-attentive driving and, in particular, what movements the head makes then. This set out exactly what movements the head makes when someone is asleep. The cap uses sensors, an accelerometer and gyroscope to measure head movements while driving. As soon as the cap detects a movement of drowsiness in the driver, it wakes him up with vibration initially. If that does not work, sounds and flashes of light are deployed.
'The SafeCap is a feat of engineering, design and usability. We think it has the potential to protect drivers and save lives,' GTB's CEO said in an earlier interview. Ford is keen to start selling the cap worldwide but additional testing is needed before that happens. The car brand also wants to prevent truckers from seeing the cap as a safety device, becoming lazy and falling asleep more precisely as a result.
Wearable technology
SafeCap is not the first cap to incorporate technology. Among others, there is a solar cap designed by a Colombian agency, especially for people living in very remote areas. Wearing the cap recharges the small solar panels on the cap. In the dark, they give light so that the cap can act as a torch.
Other garments have also been experimenting with implementing technology for years, especially on the catwalks and in the world of sports, with well-known sports brands trying to make clothes and shoes 'faster' with senosren, certain design gadgets and wind collection systems. Nowadays, self-cooling and heating vests and jackets are also successful in the startup market. E-textile, a term given to garments that serve as an extension of your electrical devices (e.g. a jacket with a built-in navigation system), is also an emerging concept.
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: Tech Insider
