Automotive tracking and data collection are areas where tech is moving far beyond simple GPS maps, and several patent filings illustrate how deep this technology could go. One described system captures biometric data like your face, iris, and fingerprints when you climb into the driver's seat. Instead of just using this data to unlock the doors, the software concept details running your biometrics through a law enforcement database in real time to check for active warrants or criminal records before you can even pull out of your driveway. Other filings outline concepts for tracking your physical state through a combination of cameras reading your eyes, facial expressions, and even your heart rate. If the vehicle's computer determines that you are panicking, excessively tired, or physically impaired to drive, it could lock down the vehicle or lock the transmission to prevent you from shifting into gear.
Another proposal tackles how to handle voice commands when the vehicle cabin gets too loud, such as driving a convertible with the roof down. To get around the heavy wind and background noise, cameras and sensors would track the movements of your lips and read them to figure out exactly what you are saying. The system could even emit inaudible sound waves off your mouth and read the returning echoes to decipher your speech without relying on a traditional microphone.
This highly detailed lip-reading capability would tie directly into separate systems designed to monitor in-car conversations for monetization. By actively listening to the dialogue of everyone sitting in the cabin, the software would grab keywords to serve highly targeted audio and visual ads on the center screen based on what you and your passengers are actively talking about.
Automakers frequently clarify that filing a patent is a standard business practice to explore new concepts and does not guarantee that these features will ever make it to a production vehicle. However, despite these statements, the patents were officially filed with the government.