Police Can Now Detect If You Use Your Phone While Driving

Sushant Gautam October 3, 2019December 2, 2020 0 Comments

Police are always on the lookout to fine those who are using a mobile phone while driving. But now Australia is taking things to the next level and using artificial intelligence to catch drivers who are guilty of this offence. A set with two cameras is installed on the roads, one of which will detect the car’s number plate and another the windscreen to capture the driver’s photo and analyse if he is using his phone. Traffic Police around the world have started to use technology to automatically detect the car’s speed, driving on the wrong lane and road mischief. In a developing country like Nepal technology and automation like this could help enforce traffic rules with low budgets and manpower.

Radar Guns were previously thought to be effective for the same purpose but were sophisticated and costly. Developed by ComSonics, a company based in Virginia, one of the kinds of radar gun could specifically help detect and catch drivers who are texting while driving. The device will be able to detect and distinguish the varying radio frequencies discharged from a cell phone in a passing car. Phone calls, data transfers and text messages emit varying frequencies that the device can recognize. The gun will be crucial as most states ban text messaging but allow hands-free or handheld calling. For instance, in Georgia adults are allowed to make calls while driving, but texting while driving is illegal for everyone.

“I don’t think we should ban all federal dollars from doing all AI. We just have to do it thoughtfully,” Beyer told USA TODAY. He said technology like this including premature computer learning and facial recognition software could lead to falsely identify someone, prompting a cop to reach for a gun in extreme cases.

On the other hand, another flavour of the same technology has been used to build a solution called a drowsiness detection system as a new car safety feature. Using a small camera, Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning can have made it possible to detect distraction and save you from a severe crash. The video below shows the solution as a new car safety feature: