Toyoda Gosei to launch truck steering wheels that warn drivers of inattention or drowsiness

Toyoda Gosei will begin sales of steering wheels for trucks that can detect driver inattention or drowsiness and be retrofitted on existing trucks. These steering wheels are intended to help prevent accidents involving trucks, which are more likely to be serious than accidents involving only passenger cars.

The product consists of a steering wheel with built-in camera and a smart phone with a preinstalled dedicated application. The camera mounted close to the driver’s face provides high detection accuracy, and if the driver’s eyes are closed for more than a certain time (approx. 1 second) or his or her face is not looking forward, the smart phone sounds a warning to call their attention. Using the smart phone’s telecommunications function, information on the driver’s status and vehicle can also be sent to the operations manager in real time, which may also lead to accident prevention. Since these steering wheels can be retrofitted on trucks in place of the existing steering wheel, trucks currently in use can continue to be used.

Toyoda Gosei will continue to incorporate various functions into steering wheels as the interface between the driver and vehicle, contributing to a safer and more comfortable driving.

Fifteen TG Logistics’ trucks fitted with these steering wheels have traveled more than 100,000 km in a verification test, and an effect has been demonstrated in reducing instances in which the driver’s eyes are off the road for 2 seconds or more, which increases the risk of an accident.