When Ford recently announced that it was planning on introducing several new health-related features to be part of its Sync system, the entire suggestion was met largely with confusion.
Whether as a response to the mixed feedback from the fairly vague introduction of in-car health aids via Sync, or a planned announcement to show the potential of the concept, Ford has revealed one of the first features it is pursuing regarding in-car health.
One of the main concerns voiced by critics of Ford’s in-car health plans was the potential to introduce even more distractions to drivers that are already overloaded with just that: Distractions. Ford says that its uniquely developed heart rate-monitoring seat is a perfect example of how in-car health aids can be unobtrusive and non-distracting while still providing several valuable services.
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Ford says that this system could be used to monitor occupant’s heart health without having to disrupt their driving or create additional distractions. The system is able to monitor heart rate through clothing without any special sensors or extra steps taken by the occupants. The idea is that the car could potentially detect an abnormal heart rate and then notify the driver, or potentially emergency services if the event is serious enough.
“As always in medicine, the earlier a condition is detected the easier it is to treat and this technology even has the potential to be instrumental in diagnosing conditions drivers were previously unaware they had,” said Ford’s researchers.
Although the seat is still in the development phase, there are many possibilities for the technology that could help provide regular tracking of heart health that could in theory be recorded and then shared with physicians, providing potentially life-saving data without having additional medical bills, doctor visits or having to take the time to stop and take a heart rate test.
“The car is an obvious choice; it’s a place where occupants spend long periods sitting in a rather calm position and a place that’s increasingly less physically demanding, making it the ideal environment to measure heart activity,” said Ford.
As previously mentioned, the feature is still very much in research and development, but already Ford says it can obtain strong readings through as many as 10 layers of cotton, although certain synthetic materials and lamb’s wool have given the sensors some trouble. In stationary testing Ford’s seat gives accurate readings on between 90 and 95 of occupants, but almost counter-intuitively the success rate rises to 98 percent during driving.
No dates have been set, or estimates provided as to when this technology could make it to market, but don’t expect to have a heart rate monitor in your Ford product any time in the immediate future.
