Continental to Showcase In-Cabin Health Monitoring

German auto-supply giant Continental will present a working model of its biometric in-cabin monitor to check the vital health signals of all vehicle occupants at CES 2025.

Its Invisible Biometrics Sensing Display system, developed in partnership with biometrics specialist trinamiX, claims to track the vital parameters of vehicle occupants using a camera and a laser projector installed behind the dashboard display.

The technology claims to detect the passengers inside the car through a high-resolution OLED screen, meaning it is invisible to the naked eye.

This display also claims other advantages in the event of a collision including 3D distance mapping to aid the deployment of airbags and other restraint devices, and to check the correct fastening of seat belts.

In addition, the system enables contactless monitoring of the driver’s vital parameters such as heart rate to identify stressful situations or an impending medical emergency. A corresponding safety feature installed in the vehicle can be triggered if needed to protect the occupants as well as other road users.

The system uses a 1.5 megapixel near infrared camera and an eye-safe laser dot projector embedded behind the high-resolution OLED screen to monitor vital parameters.

This captures the reflections of the light points emitted by the laser dot projector in the invisible light spectrum to derive results with the help of algorithms based on artificial intelligence.

The solution also provides other relevant information, including the distance of the driver to the cockpit or the classification of textile materials, which are needed to identify whether the seat belt has been fastened correctly.

Pavel Prouza, head of the user experience (UX) business area at Continental, says: “Our expertise allows us to seamlessly integrate pioneering technologies into our display solutions and thus enhance the range of functions offered and create added value.”