Facial recognition first sign of exciting things to come

Latest from Subaru is an awesome piece of technology because it addresses a major road safety issue.

The new Subaru Forester is armed with technology which has facial recognition functionality.

THE car nerd in me is getting excited - we're starting to see facial recognition appearing in new vehicles.

New technology is being rolled out that reads a driver's face to determine if they're fatigued or distracted and then sounds a warning that they're endangering themselves and other road users.

I think it's an awesome piece of technology because it addresses a major road safety issue - but the potential security benefits are even more intriguing.

Imagine if the car could identify the authorised driver by their face? The car could simply refuse to start unless someone it recognised was behind the wheel.

The car would become its own guardian.

What if a car-jacker tried to steal the car? The vehicle could simply lock the doors and then phone police. Better still, once we start seeing fully autonomous cars, the bandit could be locked in the car while the car drives him or her to the nearest police station. The mind boggles.

Technologically, these solutions might not be far off but there will be some significant legal and social issues to overcome before we see them come to life.

Until then, this car nerd will be watching the space evolve with interest.

Originally published as Facial recognition first sign of exciting things to come