Distracted driving is one of the most prominent safety issues on the roads today, claiming more than 3,500 lives in 2021 according to NHTSA. As a global technology leader that is committed to creating safe and secure automotive experiences, HARMAN has been investing in roadway safety with our cutting-edge products. In honor of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, take a deeper dive into HARMAN’s Ready suite of automotive products that keep drivers focused on the road and promote well-being while delivering consumer experiences at automotive grade.
Among some of HARMAN’s recent offerings, our Ready Care and Ready Vision products make safety and well-being the top priority. Safety is everyone’s responsibility on the road, and technologies that enable safer driving practices can decrease the number of driving-related injuries and fatalities.
As a result of two years of ongoing collaboration and innovation from our automotive teams to bring these consumer-centric, road-ready solutions to life, our Ready automotive products debuted this year at HARMAN EXPLORE 2023.
Ready Care helps drivers stay alert and focused to alleviate driver distraction, drowsiness, and stress. By utilizing machine learning and in-vehicle sensors to measure a driver’s eye activity, cognitive load and vital signs, Ready Care determines the driver’s level of focus and initiates a personalized in-cabin response to bring their attention back to the road. Ready Care is raising the bar for in-car safety and comfort with features that include contactless measurement of human vitals such as heart rate, breathing rate and inter-beat levels to determine a driver’s state of well-being, and recommend stress-free routing using dynamic, real-time maps.
Ready Vision transforms the windshield into an immersive audio-visual experience to assist the driver and create a safer and more informed journey. Using Augmented Reality (AR) head-up display hardware and software, Ready Vision enables drivers to keep their eyes on the road, instead of getting distracted by different screens for directions and traffic information. It combines the physical and digital world with the largest field of view, presenting key information with accuracy in a timely, non-intrusive manner. As a result, drivers are empowered with the right information at the right time, keeping them focused on the road ahead.
With April also being Stress Awareness Month, it is important to recognize how stress can be a major contributor to distracted driving. In fact, 58% of 16- to 34-year-olds in a GM study said their emotional state impacts their driving, and drivers are almost ten times more likely to get into a crash if they drive in a highly elevated emotional state. Both Ready Care and Ready Vision recognize and counter driver stress using neuroscience-based methods to manage mental overload and minimize risks of distracted driving.
Vehicle safety impacts everyone and remains top of mind for us at HARMAN all year round. HARMAN’s teams are focused to developing automotive experiences for OEMs that advance superior in-car safety, security and awareness for drivers and passengers. To read more about HARMAN’s connected car solutions that promote safety on roads, visit: https://www.harman.com/Automotive