In the future, your Nissan may be watching you

For some people, their relationship with their car is one of the happiest and least stressful relationships in their lives. Perhaps thats because the car can’t talk back, and never nags. Well, thanks to Japanese engineers, that may be about to change.

At the Tokyo Motor Show, which opened here to the press this week, Nissan unveiled the Pivo 2 concept vehicle with a “robot agent” that can monitor a driver’s emotions or physical condition through their facial expressions.

“For example, if the driver is surprised by another car cutting in, the robot agent can tell you, ‘Don’t worry, you’re all right’,” said Ken Mitamura, manager of the mobility laboratory at Nissan’s research centre.

“When you are sleepy, the robotic interface can detect it by monitoring a very slow pace of eye blinking and say, ‘It’s time to have a rest’,” he said.

Just like the car from Knight Rider, if the car from Knight Rider took a job as a nanny. (Nighty-night Rider?)

Tags: automobiles, Nissan, technology, Tokyo Motor Show