Ensuring No Child Left Inside

Up-armed with new key technologies, Gentex is making ‘holistic’ driver and cabin monitoring a core-brand hallmark.

A step-change in sensing precision is underway for vehicle interior applications, with increased capabilities spurred by new technology, customer interest in occupant safety and entertainment, and global regulations. Gentex is among those setting the pace in this fast-moving and hyper-competitive field, as it integrates its long experience in mirror-based opto-electronic systems and sensor fusion with the 2021 acquisition of Tel Aviv-based Guardian Optical Technologies and the 2020 purchase of Vaporsens.

The Holland, Mich.-based Tier 1 uses the term “holistic driver and cabin monitoring” to describe the interconnection of the two main development thrusts. There is discrete driver monitoring, vital for SAE Levels 2 and 3 of driving automation, with a subset of features aimed at driver distraction, drowsiness, weariness, sudden sickness, etc. And there's the ‘holistic’ approach encompassing full-cabin monitoring using wide-field-of-view (WFoV) imaging as well as sensing of tactile surfaces and air quality involving particulates and airborne chemicals.