Steering AI – Early warning system for tired drivers

Q: Hello Yi. Can you introduce your company and product in a few words?

With pleasure! It's a very young startup, launched only in July this year, but with a staff of eighteen already. Our product, an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), which manages driver fatigue, will be on the market in 2018. The company is supported by Michelin, and by the HAX hardware accelerator.

Q: And how is your product particularly innovative?

Driver fatigue is not a new problem! There are two or three other startups in China already studying the topic, but they are working on camera-based solutions, which are illumination-sensitive. At Steering AI, we approach the problem from a different angle. Our CEO, LI Wencheng, did three years of research into ADAS before forming the company. He collected data over 1M km with several fleets of trucks, before selecting a system using a smart box.
Every driver has an individual way of adapting to road conditions – we call this the steering pattern - and driving fatigue is reflected in the micro-adjustments different drivers make. We use these micro-adjustments to monitor and quantify their fatigue level, and use the data to warn drivers in advance – for example, by playing to him the sound of his children playing! We believe this is the world's first early warning solution for the advance management of driver fatigue.

Q: Tell us your story with ENGIE.

About nine months ago, Michelin became one of our company's investors. Michelin and ENGIE, of course, have a long-standing partnership, so that is how contact was made. And thanks to both of them, we will be present at CES! In the future, we hope that the ENGIE 'extended family' will enable us to find partners in intelligent transport, AI and big data, and information systems for logistics.

Q: What will you be showing at CES?

The steering box will be on display of course, along with the smart steering-wheel cover from the new version of the product, and a video showing how the system works: the hardware is connected to a cloud computing platform which interprets the data and takes action.

Q: - What do you expect from your participation at CES with ENGIE?

It will be the launching of our product! We would like to meet target customers to discuss their requirements; but we would also like to attract investors, and find financial support for our future expansion. Also, it's a great opportunity to learn about the world's most advanced technologies, and perhaps find business partners for future research.

Q: Is there any thing you would like to add?

Just that this is a really exciting period for us! Driver fatigue has caused thousands of accidents, often mortal; and at last, in 2017, we have found a really effective, innovative solution. With the support of Michelin, HAX, and now ENGIE, we look forward to making driving a much safer experience.