Fatal errors of judgment and lapses of concentration at the wheel could become a thing of the past with the introduction of brain-scanning headsets that keep drivers alert and warn of hazards ahead.
Although widespread autonomous transport is more than a decade away in modern cities, another device monitoring driver alertness and attention could drastically improve road safety.
The Emotiv headset developed by neuroscientists has a multitude of applications, but its use in helping drivers stay safe on the road could bridge the gap between current safety measures and driverless cars.
Brain signals collected from wearable devices paired with virtual reality simulators and machine learning have combined to present extensive data to prove when a driver is most likely to lose attention at the wheel.
“Autonomous cars will change everything - but there is a gap to fill until they are fully adopted, and maybe Dubai will be the first city in the world to access that technology,” said Olivier Oullier, president of the Emotiv company, who was in Dubai for the World Government Summit this week.
“Many countries and devices have pre-warnings about using technology whilst driving, but is that enough?
“We’ve connected our devices to cars to understand that level of distraction, and just how dangerous it is.
“Legal distractions are being developed by car manufacturers, such as built in GPS, that encourage drivers to look away from the road. Just for a couple of seconds, that can be catastrophic.”
Recent high profile road accidents in difficult driving conditions has placed road safety firmly back on the agenda.
A 44 car pile-up in thick fog on the E311 last week was followed just days later by a collision of 28 cars on Emirates Road.
Although autonomous vehicles would drastically reduce the amount of road collisions, suitable regulation and legislation is still some way off allowing the technology to become mainstream.
Emotiv’s developers have said tech companies are interested in using the technology to help design new vehicles with safety in mind, whilst insurers could use the data to reward careful drivers with lower premiums.
“With intelligent systems and connected artificial intelligence, the car itself will prevent an accident or any level of dangerous driving,” Mr Oullier said.
“Manufacturers have to be careful, as we know the more assistance you provide people, the less careful they are.
“As brain scientists we know when people are going to fall asleep, before they fall asleep.
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“There are certain pre-cursors to identify that, such as brainwave patterns. The idea is to integrate that into small sensors to communicate with the car or a device used by designers.
“For example, if there is a combination of fog and traffic in Dubai, your technology will switch off the GPS so the driver is forced to concentrate on the road.
“Insurance companies want to know which cars are riskier to drive so they can adjust their premiums accordingly.”
Emotiv can also be used to help those with dementia, collect data for market research and even control external devices like drones or wheelchairs, just by using brain waves collected by the headset and sent via Bluetooth to paired devices.
Headsets detect micro-movements in a fatigued brain, to help with machine learning to develop practical applications for the technology.
So far, 80,000 people in 120 countries use one of the devices, and by airlines, long distance haulage firms and some taxi companies to improve safety protocols.
“Our tests show a short walk of just 5 minutes can refresh attention capability and level of fatigue,” Mr Oullier said.
“You can enforce this behaviour by tracking hours at the wheel, but there are also external factors to consider such as how much sleep that person may have had.
“This can only be checked through monitoring brain activity. Neuroscience can help develop the technology in the car to make it safer.
“Road safety is the perfect place where AI can be integrated at a government level. People are less afraid of road safety than they are of pandemics, and that is crazy.”
Consultants at Morgan Stanley predict that by 2030, cars will drive more than 19.6 billion miles worldwide, almost double the 10.2 billion travelled in 2015.
Dubai aims to have 25 per cent of its transport automated by 2030.
Shared cars and taxi use is expected to account for 26 per cent of all trips by then, compared with just 4 per cent now.
“Your car is arguably one of the most underutilised, polluting, time-consuming and dangerous machines on Earth,” said Adam Jonas, head of Global Auto Research for Morgan Stanley.
“Cars are in operation for only about an hour each day, but they account on average, for 3,500 daily deaths worldwide.
“Automotive transportation seems ripe for a redesigned consumer experience and relationship.”
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Book%20Details
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
John Cena v Triple H
Matches to be announced
WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, United States Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship are all due to be defended
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Brackets denote aggregate score
Tuesday:
Roma (1) v Shakhtar Donetsk (2), 11.45pm
Manchester United (0) v Sevilla (0), 11.45pm
Wednesday:
Besiktas (0) v Bayern Munich (5), 9pm
Barcelona (1) v Chelsea (1), 11.45pm
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
The UAE's journey to space
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets