The Future of Cars Technology: Can Save Your Life?

What You Read Is Correct. Your Future Car May Monitor Your Health And Well-Being!

People would be able to form intimate connections to their cars during daily commutes and road trips. What would you feel if your car knew detailed information about your heartbeat or the amount of glucose in your blood?

According to Pim van der Jagt, executive leader of Ford R&D for vehicle technologies, Ford is experimenting with all kinds of health and wellness features for its cars and SUVs. Van der Jagt supervises experiments in three well-being features in their cars, which he calls Bs: built-in, brought-in, and beamed-in services.

Maybe now is the time to sell your car, and find a new one that can keep tracking your vitals.

A Heart Monitor in the Driver’s Seatn

An electrocardiography (ECG) reader has been integrated into Ford’s driver’s seat in the built-in category. Contactless ECG systems record signals through the driver’s clothes, unlike ECG systems in hospitals that attach electrodes to the skin.

Each heartbeat sends an electrical signal to the heart muscle cells. Ford’s car seat incorporates six capacitive plates that can record the signals by measuring the electronic charge between the driver’s body and the plates, fluctuating slightly with every heartbeat.

A daily commute can serve as a convenient checkup for people with heart conditions in Ford’s mind. Wearable heart monitors and apps are already available for patients to get at-home checkups, take their readings and send them to their doctor.

Despite Ford engineers proving the technology is feasible, van der Jagt says they are just trying to decide if there is any market for this feature.

Ford estimates that one-third of its European customers by 2050 will be 65 or older and that older people are pretty likely to have heart problems. In addition, more and more people remain behind the wheel into their 80s and 90s.

Glucose-Monitor Data in the Car’s Dashboard

A potential implementation of this feature would involve wearables connected to the car via Ford Sync, which shows the information on the central display screen of the vehicle.

The glucose level in the blood fluctuates with meals and other daily activities, so people with diabetes should stay on top of their glucose levels.

When a person with diabetes suffers from low glucose, they can pass out immediately. Consequently, people with diabetes increasingly use continuous glucose monitoring systems, which often have sensors under the skin that transmit data to a base station or smartphone. These systems could easily be attached to cars.

A Complete Checkup While Driving

By having that kind of connectivity, in-car telemedicine would be possible.

Rather than going to your doctor’s office, you could speak to him. The car’s sensors could remotely monitor the driver’s vital signs and transmit that data to the doctor during the consultation.

Currently, Ford provides test cars with various cameras and sensors to remotely monitor vital signs. Body temperature can easily be read via infrared cameras or seat sensors.

While these features that van der Jagt described to Spectrum are theoretical, it’s not too early to consider the appropriate tunes to play while your car gives you a thorough going-over.

Last word,

These apps are still in the development phase; however, Ford is exploring ways to get them running as soon as possible. Besides, Ford is examining other technologies for health and wellness to monitor conditions like relaxation or stress while driving.

If these technologies saw the light, they would be a game-changer in the world of cars and change the car valuation in people’s minds.

Would you replace your car to get a new one with health monitoring technologies?

Author Bio:

Mohamad Omary is the Managing Director of Car Wise. Sell My Car – CarWise Car Buyers – Dubai is a car buying company that has established itself as the go-to partner for those who want to quickly sell their used cars in the UAE; reaching 20,000 satisfied customers with their easy car selling process and excellent customer service. If you’re interested in finding out more about the most convenient way to sell any car in Dubai, visit CarWise.